Histogram analysis of T2*-based pharmacokinetic imaging in cerebral glioma grading

摘要

Background and objectiveTo investigate the feasibility of histogram analysis of the T2*-based permeability parameter volume transfer constant (Ktrans) for glioma grading and to explore the diagnostic performance of the histogram analysis ofKtransand blood plasma volume (vp). MethodsWe recruited 31 and 11 patients with high- and low-grade gliomas, respectively. The histogram parameters ofKtransandvp, derived from the first-pass pharmacokinetic modeling based on the T2* dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2* DSC-PW-MRI) from the entire tumor volume, were evaluated for differentiating glioma grades. ResultsHistogram parameters ofKtransandvpshowed significant differences between high- and low-grade gliomas and exhibited significant correlations with tumor grades. The meanKtransderived from the T2* DSC-PW-MRI had the highest sensitivity and specificity for differentiating high-grade gliomas from low-grade gliomas compared with other histogram parameters ofKtransandvp. ConclusionsHistogram analysis of T2*-based pharmacokinetic imaging is useful for cerebral glioma grading. The histogram parameters of the entire tumorKtransmeasurement can provide increased accuracy with additional information regarding microvascular permeability changes for identifying high-grade brain tumors.