Medicina
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Background and Objective: The imaging differentiation of benign from malignant intraperitoneal collections (IPCs) relies on the tumoral morphological modifications of the peritoneum, which are not always advocating for malignancy. We aimed to assess ascitic fluid with the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) to determine non-invasive, stand-alone, differentiation criteria for benign and malignant intraperitoneal effusions. Materials and Methods: Sixty-one patients with known IPCs who underwent magnetic resonance examinations for reasons such as tumor staging, undetermined abdominal mass and disease follow up were retrospectively included in this study. ⋯ The optimum ADC cutoff point for the diagnosis of malignant ascites was <3.241 × 10-3 mm2/s, with a sensitivity of 77.78% and a specificity of 80%. Conclusions: ADC represents a noninvasive and reproducible imaging parameter that may help to assess intraperitoneal collections. Although successful in distinguishing malignant from benign IPCs, further research must be conducted in order to certify if the difference in ADC values is a consequence of the physical characteristics of the ascitic fluids or their appurtenance to a certain histopathological group.