Assessing the reproducibility of high temporal and spatial resolution dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in patients with gliomas

Temporal and spatial resolution of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging (DCE-MRI) is critical to reproducibility, and the reproducibility of high-resolution (HR) DCE-MRI was evaluated. Thirty consecutive patients suspected to have brain tumors were prospectively enrolled with written informed consent. All patients underwent both HR-DCE (voxel size, 1.1 x 1.1 x 1.1 mm(3); scan interval, 1.6 s) and conventional DCE (C-DCE; voxel size, 1.25 x 1.25 x 3.0 mm(3); scan interval, 4.0 s) MRI. Regions of interests (ROIs) for enhancing lesions were segmented twice in each patient with glioblastoma (n = 7) to calculate DCE parameters (K-trans, V-p, and V-e). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of DCE parameters were obtained. In patients with gliomas (n = 25), arterial input functions (AIFs) and DCE parameters derived from T2 hyperintense lesions were obtained, and DCE parameters were compared according to WHO grades. ICCs of HR-DCE parameters were good to excellent (0.84-0.95), and ICCs of C-DCE parameters were moderate to excellent (0.66-0.96). Maximal signal intensity and wash-in slope of AIFs from HR-DCE MRI were significantly greater than those from C-DCE MRI (31.85 vs. 7.09 and 2.14 vs. 0.63; p < 0.001). Both 95(th) percentile K-trans and V-e from HR-DCE and C-DCE MRI could differentiate grade 4 from grade 2 and 3 gliomas (p < 0.05). In conclusion, HR-DCE parameters generally showed better reproducibility than C-DCE parameters, and HR-DCE MRI provided better quality of AIFs.

Automated summary

This study compared high-resolution DCE-MRI with conventional DCE-MRI in 30 consecutive patients suspected to have brain tumors. It was found that high-resolution DCE-MRI parameters showed better reproducibility and provided better quality of arterial input functions (AIFs) compared to conventional DCE-MRI.