Author: Matthias Philipp Lichy, M.D.; Philip Aschoff, M.D.; Christina Pfannenberg, M.D.; Heinz-Peter Schlemmer, M.D.

Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Tuebingen, Germany

Authored date: 2009-06-22

This case of melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma that shows the potential of DWI to enhance staging.

The early and correct estimation of metastatic spread is essential for a patient-adaped and efficient therapy regime. In this context, whole-body and multi-step MRI has already helped to improve the diagnostic accuracy of staging examinations. But cancer is also often characterized by higher cellularity and therefore restriction of water diffusion. Diffusion-weighted imaging (syngo DWI) with high b-values has therefore been applied for imaging metastasis to help improve the diagnostic accuracy of MRI.

The working-group of Schlemmer et al., Department of Radiology, University of Tuebingen, Germany, compared the findings with results of 18F-FDG PET/CT exams.