T2 magnetic resonance imaging combined with diffusion-weighted imaging for colon cancer lymph nodes.

Background: Colorectal cancer is a malignancy with a high risk of lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis, and thus requires an accurate diagnosis.

Aim: To assess the diagnostic value of combined magnetic resonance T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in colorectal cancer.

Methods: We included 120 patients with suspected colorectal cancer who underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Surgical pathology was used as the gold standard for comparison. Combined T2WI and DWI showed higher diagnostic efficacy than either of the two methods used individually.

Results: The combined method achieved 94.74% sensitivity, 95.45% specificity, 95.00% accuracy, 94.74% positive predictive value, and 95.45% negative predictive value in qualitative diagnosis. It showed 94.44% sensitivity, 95.00% specificity, 94.74% accuracy, 94.44% positive predictive value, and 95.00% negative predictive value in clinical staging. Finally, it showed 94.74% sensitivity, 94.59% specificity, 94.74% accuracy, 94.74% positive predictive value, and 94.59% negative predictive value in diagnosing lymph node metastasis. These results were highly consistent with that of the gold standard.

Conclusion: This study combined T2WI and DWI for accurate diagnosis of colorectal cancer, aiding clinical staging and lymph node metastasis assessment. This approach is promising for clinical application.