• Kiyohisa Kamimura, Tomohiro Tokuda, Junki Kamizono, Tsubasa Nakano, Tomohito Hasegawa, Masanori Nakajo, Fumitaka Ejima, Fumiko Kanzaki, Koji Takumi, Masatoyo Nakajo, Shingo Fujio, Ryosuke Hanaya, Akihide Tanimoto, Takashi Iwanaga, Hiroshi Imai, Thorsten Feiweier, and Takashi Yoshiura.
• Department of Advanced Radiological Imaging, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan.
• J Neuroimaging. 2025 Jan 1; 35 (1): e13254e13254.

Background And PurposeDifferentiation between functioning and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas/pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PAs) is clinically relevant. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of using time-dependent diffusion MRI (dMRI) for microstructural characterization of PAs.MethodsThe study included 54 participants, 24 with functioning PA and 30 with nonfunctioning PA. Time-dependent dMRI of the pituitary gland was performed using an inner field-of-view echo-planar imaging based on 2-dimensional-selective radiofrequency excitations with oscillating gradient and pulsed gradient preparation (effective diffusion time: 7.1 and 36.3 ms) at b-values of 0 and 1000 seconds/mm2. Each tumor had its apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) measured at two diffusion times (ADC7.1 ms and ADC36.3 ms), its ADC change (cADC), and relative ADC change. The mean values of diffusion parameters were compared between functioning and nonfunctioning PAs. We compared the diffusion parameters of nonfunctioning PAs with those of each type of hormone-producing PAs. The diagnostic performances of the diffusion parameters were assessed.ResultsThe cADC was significantly higher in functioning PAs than nonfunctioning PAs (p = .0124). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that cADC (area under the ROC curve [AUC] = .677, p = .017) is effective in distinguishing between functioning and nonfunctioning PAs. The cADC was significantly higher in growth hormone (GH)-producing PAs compared to nonfunctioning PAs (p = .006). The ROC curve analysis indicated that cADC (AUC = .771, p < .001) effectively distinguishes between GH-producing and nonfunctioning PAs.ConclusionsThe cADC derived from time-dependent dMRI could distinguish between functioning and nonfunctioning PAs, particularly those producing GH.© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Neuroimaging published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Neuroimaging.

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