Comparison of MRS imaging tumor index among high and low grade intra axial brain tumor with histology

Abstract

Aim. The aim of this study was to compare the MRS imaging tumor index among high-grade and low-grade intra axial brain tumor with histology. Patients and methods. This prospective observational study consisted of 30 patients who underwent surgery for intra-axial brain glioma in the Department of Neurosurgery, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram in a 1 year duration. Inferences were drawn based on MRI scans of brain (plain + contrast) with MRS and a histological examination. Results. The normalized area values of 3 metabolite resonances, namely N-Acetyl Aspartate (NAA), Choline (Cho) and Creatinine (Cr), between low grade glioma and high-grade glioma were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Significant difference was also present among Cho/NAA and Cho/Cr in differentiating low-grade from high-grade glioma. Conclusion. This study has shown that Cho/NAA and Cho/Cr ratios are reliable determinants of the tumor grade with good sensitivity and specificity. Thus, Cho/NAA and Cho/Cr ratios of MRS maybe used as a diagnostic tool in differentiating low grade gliomas from high grade gliomas.

Keywords

• : high-grade glioma
• low-grade glioma
• magnetic resonance spectroscopy (mrs)
• choline (cho)
• creatinine (cr)
• n-acetyl aspartate (naa)