Usefulness of diffusion-weighted MRI with echo-planar technique in the evaluation of cellularity in gliomas.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with echo-planar imaging (EPI) technique in depicting the tumor cellularity and grading of gliomas. Twenty consecutive patients (13 men and 7 women, ranging in age from 13 to 69 years) with histologically proven gliomas were examined using a 1.5 T superconducting imager. Tumor cellularity, analyzed with National Institutes of Health Image 1.60 software on a Macintosh computer, was compared with the minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the signal intensity on the T2-weighted images. The relationship of the minimum ADC to the tumor grade was also evaluated. Tumor cellularity correlated well with the minimum ADC value of the gliomas (P = 0.007), but not with the signal intensity on the T2-weighted images. The minimum ADC of the high-grade gliomas was significantly higher than that of the low-grade gliomas. Diffusion-weighted MRI with EPI is a useful technique for assessing the tumor cellularity and grading of gliomas. This information is not obtained with conventional MRI and is useful for the diagnosis and characterization of gliomas.
Sugahara
T
T
Department of Radiology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan. sugatake@kaiju.medic.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
Korogi
Y
Y
Kochi
M
M
Ikushima
I
I
Shigematu
Y
Y
Hirai
T
T
Okuda
T
T
Liang
L
L
Ge
Y
Y
Komohara
Y
Y
Ushio
Y
Y
Takahashi
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA