PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sugahara, Takeshi
AU  - Korogi, Yukunori
AU  - Kochi, Masato
AU  - Ushio, Yukitaka
AU  - Takahashi, Mutsumasa
TI  - Perfusion-sensitive MR Imaging of Gliomas: Comparison between Gradient-echo and Spin-echo Echo-planar Imaging Techniques
DP  - 2001 Aug 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1306--1315
VI  - 22
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/22/7/1306.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/22/7/1306.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2001 Aug 01; 22
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The different sensitivities to vessel size of gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (GE-EPI) and spin-echo EPI (SE-EPI) might indicate the relative cerebral blood volumes (rCBVs) of different tumor sizes. The techniques of GE-EPI and SE-EPI were compared for detecting low- versus high-grade gliomas.METHODS: Six patients with low-grade gliomas and 19 patients with high-grade gliomas underwent two perfusion-sensitive MR procedures, one produced by a GE- and the other by an SE-EPI technique. Maximum rCBV ratios normalized with rCBV of contralateral white matter were calculated for evaluation. P < .05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS: Maximum rCBV ratios of high-grade gliomas obtained with the GE-EPI technique (mean, 5.0 ± 2.9) were significantly higher than those obtained with the SE-EPI technique (mean, 2.9 ± 2.3) (P = .02). Maximum rCBV ratios of low-grade gliomas obtained with the GE-EPI technique (mean, 1.2 ± 0.7) were almost equal to those obtained with the SE-EPI technique (mean, 1.2 ± 0.6), and there was no significant difference (P = .66). The difference in the maximum rCBV ratios between the low- and high-grade gliomas reached significance when obtained with the GE-EPI technique (P = .01).CONCLUSION: The GE-EPI technique seems more useful for detecting low- versus high-grade gliomas than the SE-EPI technique.