title: Usefulness of perfusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging with signal-intensity curves analysis in the differential diagnosis of sellar and parasellar tumors: preliminary report.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The most common pituitary tumors are adenomas, which however may be mimicked by other tumors that can show a very similar appearance in plain MRI. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of perfusion weighted MR imaging (PWI), including signal-intensity curves analysis in the differential diagnosis of sellar/parasellar tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one patients with sellar/parasellar tumors (23 macroadenomas, 10 meningiomas, 5 craniopharyngiomas, 1 intrasellar hemangioblastoma, 1 intrasellar prostate cancer metastasis, 1 suprasellar glioma), underwent plain MRI followed by PWI using a 1.5T unit. In each tumor, the mean and maximum values of relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), as well as the relative peak height (rPH) and the relative percentage of signal intensity recovery (rPSR) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The high perfusion tumors were: macroadenomas, meningiomas, squamous-papillary type of craniopharyngiomas, hemangioblastoma, glioma and metastasis. The low perfusion neoplasms included adamantinomatous type of craniopharyngiomas. By comparing adenomas and meningiomas, we found statistically significant differences in the mean and maximum rCBV values (p=0.026 and p=0.019, respectively), but not in rPH and rPSR. The maximum rCBV values >7.14 and the mean rCBV values >5.74 with the typical perfusion curve were very suggestive of the diagnosis of meningioma. There were differences between adenomas and other high perfusion tumors in rPH and rPSR values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PWI can provide additional information helpful in differential diagnosis of sellar/parasellar tumors. In our opinion PWI, as an easy to perform and fast technique should be incorporated into the MR protocol of all intracranial neoplasms including sellar/parasellar tumors.
authors: Department of General Radiology, Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland. asia.bladowska@gmail.com
authors: Joanna
authors: J
authors: Bladowska
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Zimny
authors: Maciej
authors: M
authors: Guziński
authors: Agnieszka
authors: A
authors: Hałoń
authors: Paweł
authors: P
authors: Tabakow
authors: Marcin
authors: M
authors: Czyż
authors: Bogdan
authors: B
authors: Czapiga
authors: Włodzimierz
authors: W
authors: Jarmundowicz
authors: Marek J
authors: MJ
authors: Sąsiadek
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity