Published online Jun 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i6.103298
Revised: March 28, 2025
Accepted: April 29, 2025
Published online: June 27, 2025
Processing time: 86 Days and 4 Hours
Colorectal cancer is a malignancy with a high risk of lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis, and thus requires an accurate diagnosis.
To assess the diagnostic value of combined magnetic resonance T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in colorectal cancer.
We included 120 patients with suspected colorectal cancer who underwent mag
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.
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.
Core Tip: By synergizing T2-weighted imaging texture analysis with diffusion-weighted imaging and machine learning, this study achieves unprecedented diagnostic precision (area under the curve ≥ 0.92) for colorectal cancer lymph node metastasis, outperforming traditional imaging methods. The integration of synthetic double inversion recovery imaging further optimizes anatomical visualization, enabling more accurate T staging and extramural infiltration assessment. These innovations hold transformative potential for preoperative risk stratification and therapeutic planning in colorectal cancer.