Investigating the value of arterial spin labeling (ASL) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging on the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in T1 stage

T1-stage NPC was difficult to diagnosis using conventional MRI and additional examinations were often needed. This study aimed to investigate ASL and IVIM on diagnosing T1-stage NPC. We measured the BF by ASL and IVIM parameters (D, D*, f, fD*) of T1-stage NPC tumors and nasopharyngeal mucosa of healthy control. The mean BF and D* of T1-stage NPC were higher than those of healthy control. And the BF correlated positively with D* and fD*. Therefore, ASL and IVIM could reflect blood perfusion difference between T1-stage NPC and benign nasopharyngeal mucosa, which is potential to help the early diagnosis of NPC.