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Objectives: To explore the value of the synthetic MRI (SyMRI), combined with amide proton transfer–weighted (APTw) MRI for quantitative and morphologic assessment of sinonasal lesions, which could provide relative scale for the quantitative assessment of tissue properties. Methods: A total of 80 patients (31 malignant and 49 benign) with sinonasal lesions, who underwent the SyMRI and APTw examination, were retrospectively analyzed. Quantitative parameters (T1, T2, proton density (PD)) and APT % were obtained through outlining the region of interest (ROI) and comparing the two groups utilizing independent Student t test or a Wilcoxon test. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), Delong test, and logistic regression analysis were performed to assess the diagnostic efficiency of one-parameter and multiparametric models. Results: SyMRI-derived mean T1, T2, and PD were significantly higher and APT % was relatively lower in benign compared to malignant sinonasal lesions (p < 0.05). The ROC analysis showed that the AUCs of the SyMRI-derived quantitative (T1, T2, PD) values and APT % ranged from 0.677 to 0.781 for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant sinonasal lesions. The T2 values showed the best diagnostic performance among all single parameters for differentiating these two masses. The AUCs of combined SyMRI-derived multiple parameters with APT % (AUC = 0.866) were the highest than that of any single parameter, which was significantly improved (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of SyMRI and APTw imaging has the potential to reflect intrinsic tissue characteristics useful for differentiating benign from malignant sinonasal lesions. Clinical relevance statement: Combining synthetic MRI with amide proton transfer–weighted imaging could function as a quantitative and contrast-free approach, significantly enhancing the differentiation of benign and malignant sinonasal lesions and overcoming the limitations associated with the superficial nature of endoscopic nasal sampling. Key Points: • Synthetic MRI and amide proton transfer–weighted MRI could differentiate benign from malignant sinonasal lesions based on quantitative parameters. • The diagnostic efficiency could be significantly improved through synthetic MRI + amide proton transfer–weighted imaging. • The combination of synthetic MRI and amide proton transfer–weighted MRI is a noninvasive method to evaluate sinonasal lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in the differentiation between benign and malignant sinonasal lesions, and to compare the diagnostic performance of DKI with diffusion weighted imaging (DWI).Materials and Methods: Eight-one patients with solid sinonasal lesions confirmed by surgery and pathology (46 malignant and 35 benign) underwent conventional MRI, DWI, and DKI. DKI was performed employing a 13 extended b-value ranging from 0 to 2500 s/mm2 . Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) from DWI, kurtosis (K), and diffusion coefficient (D) from DKI were measured and compared between two groups.Results: ADC and D values were significantly lower in the malignant sinonasal lesions than in the benign sinonasal lesions (1.11 ± 0.41 versus 1.58 ± 0.50 × 10-3 mm2 /s and 1.45 ± 0.36 versus 2.03 ± 0.49 × 10-3 mm2 /s, respectively, both P < 0001). K value was significantly higher in the malignant lesions than in the benign lesions (0.91 ± 0.23 versus 0.57 ± 0.24, P < 0001). The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses yielded a cutoff ADC value of 1.27 × 10-3 mm2 /s for differentiating between benign and malignant lesions, with a sensitivity of 69.6%, a specificity of 77.1% and an accuracy of 74.0%; a cutoff D value of 1.75 × 10-3 mm2 /s, with a sensitivity of 82.6%, a specificity of 77.1% and an accuracy of 80.2%; a cutoff K value of 0.63 with a sensitivity of 95.7%, a specificity of 77.1% and an accuracy of 87.7%. The area under the curve of K value was significantly larger than that of ADC value (0.875 versus 0.762; P < 0.05).Conclusion: K value of DKI demonstrates significantly higher accuracy compared with ADC value for the differentiation between benign and malignant sinonasal lesions. DKI may be a noninvasive method to evaluate the sinonasal lesions.Level Of Evidence: 1 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;45:1446-1454. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]