Correlations of magnetic resonance, perfusion-weighed imaging parameters and microvessel density in meningioma.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlations of magnetic resonance, perfusion-weighed imaging (PWI) parameters and microvessel density (MVD) in meningioma.

METHODS: 48 patients with pathologically confirmed meningioma (grade I, 38 cases; grade II+III, 10 cases) completed preoperative routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and PWI. The cerebral blood volume (CBV) map of solid tumor region and the mean of maximum relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) were then calculated. Immunohistochemical staining was performed in all specimens to measure the MVD.

RESULTS: On the CBV map, benign meningiomas showed a high perfusion signal, while malignant meningiomas exhibited a slightly higher one. The rCBV of benign meningiomas was 9.61±4.76, which was significantly higher than 3.61±0.25 of malignant meningiomas (t=7.165, p=0.000). The MVD of benign meningioma strips was 21.16 ± 11.32, which was also significantly higher than 10.71 ± 5.53 strips of malignant meningiomas (t=2.325, p=0.026). The correlation analysis showed that the mean of maximum rCBV and MVD of meningiomas had significant positive correlations (r=0.718, p=0.000).

CONCLUSIONS: The CBV map of benign meningiomas is different to that of malignant meningiomas, and the mean of maximum rCBV and MVD have significant positive correlations.