Evaluation of dural sinus invasion and extension of extra-axial intracranial tumors. The advantages of a high-resolution postcontrast 3-D gradient-echo technique.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the usefulness of a postcontrast 3-D Fourier transform (3DFT) gradient-echo (GRE) technique in dural sinus invasion and extension of extraaxial intracranial tumors in comparison with a conventional spin-echo (SE) technique.


METHODS
Fourteen consecutive patients with 15 extra-axial tumors in contiguity with the dural sinus, including 14 meningiomas and 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma, underwent postcontrast T1-weighted SE and GRE MR studies. Detectability of dural sinus invasion and extension was evaluated using two sequences by two neuroradiologists in a blinded manner and compared with surgical results. Quantitative analysis was also performed to calculate the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between lesion and dural sinus on SE and GRE images. The data were analyzed statistically using a matched paired t-test.


RESULTS
In the qualitative evaluation, the detectability of dural sinus invasion in 3DFT-GRE images was superior to that using SE images. The mean CNR for all lesions was 3.86 on SE images and 5.63 on 3DFT-GRE images (p = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
For evaluation of dural sinus invasion and the extension of extra-axial tumors, postcontrast 3DFT-GRE MR images were superior to conventional SE images.
Ikushima
I
I
Department of Radiology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
Korogi
Y
Y
Hirai
T
T
Sugahara
T
T
Shigematsu
Y
Y
Okuda
T
T
Takahashi
M
M
Ushio
Y
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003528:Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D003287:Contrast Media; D003392:Cranial Sinuses / Q000473:pathology*; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D008579:Meningioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011446:Prospective Studies
D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA