Performance of diffusion and perfusion MRI in evaluating primary central nervous system lymphomas of different locations

BACKGROUND: Diffusion and perfusion MRI can invasively define physical properties and angiogenic features of tumors, and guide the individual treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the diffusion and perfusion MRI parameters of primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs) are related to the tumor locations. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the diffusion, perfusion, and conventional MRI of 68 patients with PCNSLs at different locations (group 1: cortical gray matter, group 2: white matter, group 3: deep gray matter). Relative maximum cerebral blood volume (rCBV(max)) from perfusion MRI, minimum apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC(min)) from DWI of each group were calculated and compared by one-way ANOVA test. In addition, we compared the mean apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC(mean)) in three different regions of control group. RESULTS: The rCBV(max) of PCNSLs yielded the lowest value in the white matter group, and the highest value in the cortical gray matter group (P < 0.001). However, the ADC(min) of each subgroup was not statistically different. The ADC(mean) of each subgroup in control group was not statistically different. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that rCBV(max) of PCNSLs are related to the tumor location, and provide simple but effective information for guiding the clinical practice of PCNSLs.