Deuterium NMR tissue perfusion measurements using the tracer uptake approach: II. Comparison with microspheres in tumors.

Whole-volume tumor perfusion measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) observation of deuterated water uptake after intravenous injection and a common arterial input function (AIF) derived from AIF estimates in a small set of animals was compared with perfusion measured by the commonly used microsphere method in rat 9L gliosarcomas. Tumor perfusion estimated with this optimized NMR technique using an appropriate common AIF (i.e., taking into account the duration of anesthesia) correlates highly (n = 13, P = 0. 001) with that measured by the microsphere method, yielding no significant differences (P = 0.5, paired Student's t-test). Thus, the optimized NMR method can be used for repeatable, non-invasive, and quantitative measurements of tumor perfusion. Magn Reson Med 42:240-247, 1999. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.