Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Radiol. May 28, 2026; 18(5): 119367
Published online May 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i5.119367
Published online May 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i5.119367
Role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient in subtyping renal cell carcinoma
Hira Lal, Pragati Verma, Athar Shamim, Raghunandan Prasad, Anuradha Singh, Department of Radiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India
Pinky Jowel, Department of Health and Family Welfare, National Health Mission, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India
Uday P Singh, Sanjoy K Sureka, Priyank Yadav, Department of Urology and Renal Trans
Farhana Siddiqui, Department of Pathology, FH Medical College and Hospitals, Agra 283204, Uttar Pradesh, India
Manoj Jain, Department of Pathology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India
Aneesh Srivastava, Department of Urology, Medanta Hospital, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India
Author contributions: Lal H, Verma P, Prasad R, Jain M, Srivastava A, and Yadav P designed and coordinated the study; Verma P, Shamim A, Singh UP, and Sureka SK performed the examinations, acquired and analyzed data; Lal H, Jowel P, Prasad R, and Yadav P interpreted the data; Shamim A, Singh A, Siddiqui F, and Yadav P wrote the manuscript; Verma P and Shamim A performed statistical analysis; all authors approved the final version of the article.
AI contribution statement: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used ChatGPT solely for language polishing and to improve the readability of the Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion sections. No generative AI or AI-assisted technology was used to generate any part of the main text, develop the study design, interpret the results, or create any of the manuscript's figures.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Board of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India (IEC code: 2021-217-MD-EXP-42).
Clinical trial registration statement: The study is prospective study, and there is not clinical trial registration.
Informed consent statement: All study participants provided written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: There is no additional data available.
Corresponding author: Hira Lal, Professor, Department of Radiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raibareli Road, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India. hiralal2007@yahoo.co.in
Received: January 26, 2026
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: March 16, 2026
Published online: May 28, 2026
Processing time: 121 Days and 21.5 Hours
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: March 16, 2026
Published online: May 28, 2026
Processing time: 121 Days and 21.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides functional information that complements conventional MRI in renal mass evaluation. In this study, quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient values showed significant differences among renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes and demonstrated good diagnostic performance in differentiating clear cell from non-clear cell RCC. Apparent diffusion coefficient analysis reflects underlying tumor microstructure and cellularity and may be particularly useful when contrast-enhanced imaging is contraindicated. Incorporating diffusion-weighted MRI into multiparametric renal MRI protocols can enhance noninvasive preoperative characterization of RCC.