Usefulness of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values for Diagnosis of Infantile Hemangioma

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging allow differentiation between infantile hemangiomas (IHs) and malignant soft tissue tumors. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on magnetic resonance images of pediatric patients with IHs and malignant soft tissue tumors from January 2014 to December 2016, which comprised 7 patients with 8 IHs and 6 patients with 6 malignant soft tissue tumors. We calculated and compared the ADC values of each lesion. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine a cutoff value for the ADC. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the ADC values of IHs and those of malignant soft tissue tumors (1.32 [1.27-1.72] × 10^-3 mm²/s vs 0.67 [0.57-0.79] × 10^-3 mm²/s; P < 0.001), with no overlap between the 2 groups. Conclusions: The ADC values obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging were useful in differentiating IHs from malignant soft tissue tumors in pediatric patients.