Menstrual cycle variation of apparent diffusion coefficients measured in the normal breast using MRI

Recent investigations have shown that tumors may be distinguished from benign lesions in the breast based on differences in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. The goal of this study was to assess the magnitude of normal variations in the measured ADC of breast parenchyma during the menstrual cycle. Eight healthy female subjects were scanned once a week for 4 weeks, using a diffusion‐weighted single‐shot fast spin‐echo (DW‐SSFSE) sequence. The ADC of breast fibroglandular tissue was calculated for each woman at each time point. Results showed a trend of decreased ADC during the second week of the cycle, and increased ADC during the final week. However, no significant influence of menstrual cycle on breast ADC values was identified. The results of this study show that the normal fluctuation of breast ADC is relatively small, and the coefficient of variation was determined to be 5.5% for our group of volunteers during a menstrual cycle. Nonetheless, breast diffusion measurements for tumor differentiation and evaluation of treatment response should be interpreted with consideration of normal variability. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;14:433–438. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.