Relationship between Cerebral Blood Volume and Tumor Micro-vessel Density in Glioma

Objective To discuss the correlation between cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and tumor micro-vessel density (MVD) in glioma by using MR perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI).Materials and Methods MR PWI was performed in 30 patients with glioma, including 12 cases of low-grade (grade Ⅰ～Ⅱ) and 18 cases with high-grade (grade Ⅲ～Ⅳ). PWI was subsequently carried out after routine MRI scanning. The perfusion data were deconvoluted to calculate the rCBV values of both the lesion and the normal white matter, and the ratio of the lesion to white matter. MVD was measured with immunohistochemical method. The correlation of PWI results with the pathologic grade and MVD was analyzed.Results The rCBV, rCBV ratio and MVD were 41.54±25.16, 2.83±1.12 and 37.24±25.78 in low-grade group, while 142.00±82.75, 9.04±2.36 and 73.67±19.85 in high-grade group, respectively. Statistically significant difference in rCBV, rCBV ratio existed between low-grade group and high-grade group (P0.001). The rCBV was closely correlated with MVD (r=0.86, P0.001).Conclusion Significant difference in rCBV exists between gliomas of different grade. The rCBV of the tumor correlates well with MVD.