[Radiological features of primary central nervous system lymphoma]

Area of Science:

• Neuroradiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Primary malignant lymphoma of the central nervous system (CNS) requires accurate diagnostic methods.
• Distinguishing primary from secondary spinal lymphoma can be challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the radiological features of primary CNS lymphoma.
• To evaluate the utility of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing CNS lymphoma.

Main Methods:

• Review of radiological findings in 12 histologically confirmed cases of primary CNS lymphoma (10 intracranial, 2 spinal).
• Analysis of CT and MRI characteristics, including signal intensities on T1-weighted imaging (T1-WI), rho-weighted imaging (rho-WI), and T2-weighted imaging (T2-WI).
• Evaluation of contrast enhancement patterns with gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA).

Main Results:

• CT appearances of CNS lymphoma were variable, with no specific correlation between histologic type and contrast enhancement patterns.
• All lymphomas exhibited low to isointensity signals on T1-WI and high signal intensities on rho-WI and T2-WI.
• MRI provided accurate, non-invasive multiplanar tumor delineation, with Gd-DTPA enhancing tumor visualization on T1-WI.

Conclusions:

• MRI is a valuable tool for delineating CNS lymphoma, offering improved visualization over CT.
• Gd-DTPA enhances tumor conspicuity on MRI, aiding in diagnosis.
• MRI may improve the detection of spinal epidural lymphomas.