Differences between primary central nervous system lymphoma and glioblastoma: topographic analysis using voxel-based...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Radiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Differentiating primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) from glioblastoma (GBM) is crucial for treatment planning.
• Both PCNSL and GBM are aggressive brain tumors that can present with similar imaging characteristics.
• Accurate diagnosis impacts patient management and prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the diagnostic feasibility of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for differentiating PCNSL from GBM.
• To investigate the utility of topographic analysis in distinguishing these two brain tumors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 118 GBM and 52 PCNSL patients.
• Preoperative contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI (CE-T1WI) data were analyzed.
• Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) 12 after image normalization and region of interest definition.

Main Results:

• VBM analysis identified a significantly higher frequency of involvement in the splenium of the corpus callosum in PCNSL patients compared to GBM patients (p<0.05).
• This topographic finding suggests distinct spatial patterns between PCNSL and GBM.

Conclusions:

• Topographic analysis utilizing VBM is a valuable tool for differentiating PCNSL from GBM.
• VBM-based morphometric analysis can provide crucial diagnostic information for challenging neuro-oncological cases.