Functional imaging in non-small cell lung carcinoma: Correlation between standardized uptake values and apparent diffusion coefficient values

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and standard uptake value (SUV) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: PET/CT and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW MRI) were performed in 73 consecutive patients with histologically verified NSCLC.  Analysing the PET/CT data calculation of the maximum and mean SUV was performed. The mean and minimum ADC values were measured directly on the parametric ADC maps.

Results: Significant inverse correlations were found between ADC_mean and SUV_mean (r = - 0.53; p < 0.001) as well as ADC_min and SUV_max (r = - 0.71; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The significant negative correlations between ADC and SUV suggest an association between tumor cellularity and metabolic activity in NSCLC.