The diagnostic value of postcontrast susceptibility-weighted imaging in the assessment of intracranial brain neoplasm at 3T.

BACKGROUND

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is occasionally performed with intravenous gadolinium (Gd). It was reported that SWI can be performed after Gd injection without information loss or signal change.

PURPOSE

To investigate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced SWI (CE-SWI) in the assessment of intracranial brain neoplasm.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

After obtaining the approval of the local ethics committee, 35 brain neoplasm patients (24 with metastasis and 11 with glioblastoma multiforme [GBM]) were enrolled. In order to investigate the value of using CE-SWI, two neuroradiologists performed an evaluation of the frequency of the intratumoral susceptibility signals (ITSS) in SWI and CE-SWI with visual assessment using 5-grade scales. We evaluated the visibility of the tumor margins and the internal architecture of tumors on T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), contrast-enhanced T1 (CE-T1), SWI, and CE-SWI.

RESULTS

The contrast-enhanced scans (CE-T1 and CE-SWI) showed statistically significant higher scores compared to non-enhanced scans (T1WI and SWI) for the analysis of the tumor margin in GBM and metastasis ( < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed rank test). Statistically significant higher scores are noted in GBMs compared to metastases in the visibility of the internal architecture of tumors on CE-SWI and the visibility of the tumor margin on CE-T1 ( < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test).

CONCLUSION

Based on our results, SWI can be performed after gadolinium injection without information loss or signal change. CE-SWI is useful in evaluating intracranial neoplasm due to its ability to simultaneously demonstrate both ITSS that are not visible with conventional magnetic resonance sequences and contrast enhancement.