The Value of Amide Proton Transfer MRI in the Grading of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma : Comparison With Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

Motivation: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent renal cell carcinoma. Preoperative determination of ccRCC grading is crucial for appropriate surgical decision-making and prognosis. Goal(s): This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging for the differentiation of low-grade ccRCC from high-grade ccRCC. Approach: The diagnostic efficacy was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for differentiating high-grade from low-grade tumors was 0.898 for MTRasym, 0.817 for ADC, and 0.928 for the combined metrics. Impact: APTw MRI holds potential as a valuable supplementary sequence to conventional MRI for the grading of ccRCC.