Diffusion and perfusion magnetic resonance imaging in evaluation of primary glial brain tumors

Introduction: Diffusion (DWI) and perfusion (PWI) imaging can give important data about physiological characteristics of tissue, which complete morphologic findings from conventional MRI. The aim of this study is to estimate the value of these MRI technics in evaluation of primary glial brain tumors. Materials and methods: The significance of DWI and PWI in differentiation of histologically proven low- and high-grade gliomas was estimated in 48 patient with diagnosed brain gliomas. ADC and rCBV values were compared by application of Mann-Whitney test, and logistic regression analysis was used to determine which of these two parameters contributed the most in increasing the diagnostic accuracy, ia. its sensitivity, specificity and predictive velues. ROC curves were constructed to determine threshold values for differentiation of low- from highgrade lesions. Results: Statistical significance were showed between mean values of rCBV for low-grade (0,82) and high-grade (5,32) gliomas, which was not found for values of ADC parameters. Threshold rCBV value of 1,23 was determinated for discrimination between low- and high-grade gliomas with a sensitivity of 83,2% and a specificity of 77,5%. Conclusion: Conventional MRI combined with PWI increases the accuracy in determination of glioma grade.