INTRODUCTION: Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) with high- and ultra-high-field magnetic resonance is a very helpful tool for evaluating brain gliomas and intratumoral structures, including microvasculature. Here, we test whether objective quantification of intratumoral SWI patterns by applying fractal analysis can offer reliable indexes capable of differentiating glial tumor grades. METHODS: Thirty-six patients affected by brain gliomas (grades II-IV, according to the WHO classification system) underwent MRI at 7 T using a SWI protocol. All images were collected and analyzed by applying a computer-aided fractal image analysis, which applies the fractal dimension as a measure of geometrical complexity of intratumoral SWI patterns. The results were subsequently statistically correlated to the histopathological tumor grade. RESULTS: The mean value of the fractal dimension of the intratumoral SWI patterns was 2.086 ± 0.413. We found a trend of higher fractal dimension values in groups of higher histologic grade. The values ranged from a mean value of 1.682 ± 0.278 for grade II gliomas to 2.247 ± 0.358 for grade IV gliomas (p = 0.013); there was an overall statistically significant difference between histopathological groups. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms that SWI at 7 T is a useful method for detecting intratumoral vascular architecture of brain gliomas and that SWI pattern quantification by means of fractal dimension offers a potential objective morphometric image biomarker of tumor grade.
INTRODUCTION: Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) with high- and ultra-high-field magnetic resonance is a very helpful tool for evaluating brain gliomas and intratumoral structures, including microvasculature. Here, we test whether objective quantification of intratumoral SWI patterns by applying fractal analysis can offer reliable indexes capable of differentiating glial tumor grades. METHODS: Thirty-six patients affected by brain gliomas (grades II-IV, according to the WHO classification system) underwent MRI at 7 T using a SWI protocol. All images were collected and analyzed by applying a computer-aided fractal image analysis, which applies the fractal dimension as a measure of geometrical complexity of intratumoral SWI patterns. The results were subsequently statistically correlated to the histopathological tumor grade. RESULTS: The mean value of the fractal dimension of the intratumoral SWI patterns was 2.086 ± 0.413. We found a trend of higher fractal dimension values in groups of higher histologic grade. The values ranged from a mean value of 1.682 ± 0.278 for grade II gliomas to 2.247 ± 0.358 for grade IV gliomas (p = 0.013); there was an overall statistically significant difference between histopathological groups. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms that SWI at 7 T is a useful method for detecting intratumoral vascular architecture of brain gliomas and that SWI pattern quantification by means of fractal dimension offers a potential objective morphometric image biomarker of tumor grade.
Authors: Alexander Rauscher; Jan Sedlacik; Markus Barth; E Mark Haacke; Jürgen R Reichenbach Journal: Magn Reson Med Date: 2005-07 Impact factor: 4.668
Authors: Jens M Theysohn; Stefan Maderwald; Oliver Kraff; Christoph Moenninghoff; Mark E Ladd; Susanne C Ladd Journal: MAGMA Date: 2007-12-07 Impact factor: 2.310
Authors: K Pinker; I M Noebauer-Huhmann; I Stavrou; R Hoeftberger; P Szomolanyi; G Karanikas; M Weber; A Stadlbauer; E Knosp; K Friedrich; S Trattnig Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2007-08 Impact factor: 3.825
Authors: Bixia Chen; Tobias Schoemberg; Oliver Kraff; Philipp Dammann; Andreas K Bitz; Marc Schlamann; Harald H Quick; Mark E Ladd; Ulrich Sure; Karsten H Wrede Journal: MAGMA Date: 2016-03-30 Impact factor: 2.310
Authors: Elisabeth Springer; Barbara Dymerska; Pedro Lima Cardoso; Simon Daniel Robinson; Christian Weisstanner; Roland Wiest; Benjamin Schmitt; Siegfried Trattnig Journal: Invest Radiol Date: 2016-08 Impact factor: 6.016