Primary intracranial CNS lymphoma: MR manifestations

We reviewed MR scans of 10 patients with biopsy-proved primary CNS lymphoma. Twenty-five lesions were identified in 10 patients (four with AIDS and six without AIDS). In general, the typical lesion of CNS lymphoma was found to have the following MR characteristics: they were slightly hypointense on T1-weighted images and slightly hyperintense on proton density and T2-weighted images relative to gray matter; they induced mild edema and mild to moderate mass effect. In AIDS patients, 82% of the lesions were smaller than 2 cm in diameter, and were frequently located in the temporal lobes and basal ganglia; they were often multiple. In non-AIDS patients, 75% of the lesions were larger than 2 cm in diameter and were primarily found in the deep parietal lobe; most were solitary.