Vascularity of meningiomas and neuromas: assessment with dynamic susceptibility-contrast MR imaging

Dynamic susceptibility-contrast MR imaging provides hemodynamic information about normal and pathologic tissue of the brain. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of this technique in assessing the vascularity of meningiomas and neuromas.

Sixteen patients with extraaxial brain tumors (eight meningiomas and eight neuromas) and seven subjects without evident brain lesions were studied with a conventional 1.5-T MR unit. Dynamic susceptibility-contrast MR imaging was done with a gradient-echo technique (33/23/10 degrees [TR/TE/flip angle]) during bolus IV injection of 0.15 mmol/kg gadopentetate dimeglumine. The integral of the rate of change in T2* (integral of delta R2*dt) was calculated and compared among the brain tumors and normal brain.

The mean integral of delta R2*dt value obtained was significantly higher in meningiomas than in neuromas (p < .001), which shows that meningiomas are generally more vascular than neuromas. We found no significant difference in the mean integral of delta R2*dt between neuromas and normal brain regions.

Dynamic susceptibility-contrast MR imaging provides information about the degree of the vascularity of meningiomas and neuromas that is not available with conventional MR imaging.