Brain Metastases from Different Primary Carcinomas: an Evaluation of DSC MRI Measurements

This study evaluated the roles of different dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic imaging (DSC MRI) measurements in discriminating between brain metastases derived from four common primary carcinomas. Thirty-seven patients with brain metastases were enrolled. Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and relative mean transit time (rMTT) in both tumor and peritumoral edema were measured. Metastases were grouped by their primary tumor (lung, gastrointestinal, breast and renal cell carcinoma). DSC MRI measurements were compared between groups. Mean rCBV, rCBF, rMTT in tumor and peritumoral edema of all brain metastases (n=37) were 2.79 ± 1.73, 2.56 ± 2.11, 1.21 ± 0.48 and 1.05 ± 0.53, 0.86 ± 0.40, 1.99 ± 0.41, respectively. The tumoral rCBV (5.26 ± 1.89) and rCBF (5.32 ± 3.28) of renal metastases were greater than those of the other three metastases (P<0.05). The tumoral rMTT (1.58 ± 0.77) of breast metastases was statistically greater than that (0.96 ± 0.31) of gastrointestinal metastases (P=0.013). No statistical difference was found between peritumoral rCBV, rCBF and rMTT (P>0.05). Evaluating various DSC MRI measurements can provide complementary hemodynamic information on brain metastases. The tumoral rCBV, rCBF and likely rMTT can help discriminate between brain metastases originating from different primary carcinomas. The peritumoral DSC MRI measurements had limited value in discriminating between brain metastases.