• Wang Junping, Si Tongguo, Zhang Yunting, Yu Chunshui, and Bai Renju.
• Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Anshan Road No. 154, Heping, Tianjin, China.
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2012 Sep 1; 36 (3): 624-31.

PurposeTo assess the accuracy of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the differentiation of axillary metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes in rabbits with metastatic breast cancer and to determine the relationship between the ADC and the cellularity of axillary lymph nodes of two different types.Materials And MethodsThe axillary lymph node models were created by inoculating VX2 cell suspensions in the mammary glands of 30 female rabbits. Conventional MR imaging and multi-shot fast-spin-echo PROPELLER DW imaging were performed approximately 4 weeks after successful inoculation. Images of axillary lymph nodes were analyzed with regard to size and ADC. Differences in the forementioned criteria between the two types of lymph nodes were assessed with reference to histopathologic findings. Cellularity was correlated with the ADC in all selected axillary lymph nodes.ResultsA total of 41 axillary metastatic and 29 inflammatory lymph nodes were successfully isolated. The size-based criteria showed no significant difference between the malignant and inflammatory lymph nodes (Ps > 0.05); however, the ADC of metastatic nodes was significantly lower than that of inflammatory nodes (P < 0.001). There was a significant inverse correlation between the ADC and cellularity (r = -0.674; P < 0.001) regardless of their different tissue types.ConclusionDW imaging is a new promising functional technique for differentiating metastatic from inflammatory lymph nodes. Furthermore, cellularity has a significant influence on the ADC in both malignant and benign lymph nodes.Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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