Early treatment response in non-small cell lung cancer patients using diffusion-weighted imaging and functional diffusion maps - a feasibility study

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the feasibility of monitoring treatment response to chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma using functional diffusion maps (fDMs). Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the Cantonal Research Ethics Committee and informed written consent was obtained from all patients. Nine patients (mean age = 66 years; range = 53–76 years, 5 females, 4 males) with overall 13 lesions were included. Imaging was performed within two weeks before initiation of chemotherapy and at one, two, and six weeks after initiation of chemotherapy. Imaging included a respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted sequence including three b-factors (100, 600, and 800 s/mm2). Treatment response was defined by change in tumor diameter on computed tomography (CT) after two cycles of chemotherapy. Changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) on a per-lesion basis and the percentages of voxel with significantly increased or decr...