Abstract
BackgroundAn assessment of the degree of white matter tract injury is important in neurosurgical planning for patients with gliomas. The main objective of this study was to assess the injury grade of the corticospinal tract (CST) in rats with glioma using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).MethodsA total 17 rats underwent 7.0T MRI on day 10 after tumor implantation. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were acquired in the tumor, peritumoral and contralateral areas, and the ADC ratio (ipsilateral ADC/contralateral ADC) and rFA (relative FA = ipsilateral FA/contralateral FA) in the peritumoral areas were measured. The CST injury was divided into three grades and delineated by diffusion tensor tractography reconstruction imaging. The fiber density index (FDi) of the ipsilateral and contralateral CST and rFDi (relative FDi = ipsilateral FDi/contralateral FDi) in the peritumoral areas were measured. After the mice were sacrificed, the invasion of glioma cells and fraction of proliferating cells were observed by hematoxylin-eosin and Ki67 staining in the tumor and peritumoral areas. The correlations among the pathology results, CST injury grade and DTI parameter values were calculated using a Spearman correlation analysis. One-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the different CST injury grade by the rFA, rFDi and ADC ratio values.ResultsThe tumor cells and proliferation index were positively correlated with the CST injury grade (r = 0.8857, 0.9233, P < 0.001). A negative correlation was demonstrated between the tumor cells and the rFA and rFDi values in the peritumoral areas (r = −0.8571, −0.5588), and the proliferation index was negatively correlated with the rFA and rFDi values (r = −0.8571, −0.5588), while the ADC ratio was not correlated with the tumor cells or proliferation index. The rFA values between the CST injury grades (1 and 3, 2 and 3) and the rFDi values in grades 1 and 3 significantly differed (P < 0.05).ConclusionsDiffusion tensor imaging may be used to quantify the injury degrees of CST involving brain glioma in rats. Our data suggest that these quantitative parameters may be used to enhance the efficiency of delineating the relationship between fiber tracts and malignant tumor.
Highlights
Gliomas are characterized by invasive growth along fiber tracts in the white matter (Chen, Shi & Song, 2010)
A negative correlation was observed between the tumor cells and the rFA and rFDi values in the peritumoral areas (r = -0.8571, -0.5588, respectively), and the proliferation index was negatively correlated with the rFA and rFDi values (r = -0.8698, -0.5856, respectively), while the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) ratio was not correlated with the tumor cells or proliferation index (Figs. 1D and 1E)
Diffusion tensor imaging analysis and corticospinal tract (CST) injury grades The rFA values significantly differed between the CST injury grades (1 and 3, 2 and 3) (P < 0.05) (Fig. 2A); the rFDi values significantly differed between the grades (1 and 3) (P < 0.05) (Fig. 2B), while the ADC ratio (Fig. 2C) and rFA and rFDi values in the remaining CST injury grade groups did not significantly differ
Summary
Gliomas are characterized by invasive growth along fiber tracts in the white matter (Chen, Shi & Song, 2010). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been proven to classify damage to the fiber tracts and is used to quantitatively analyze the infiltration degree of the CST (HerveyJumper & Berger, 2014; Jeong et al, 2015). Some authors (Painter & Hillen, 2013; Witwer et al, 2002; Yu et al, 2005) have demonstrated that fractional anisotropy (FA) decreases in the white matter close to brain tumors, while apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) increases in the tumor core and peritumoral areas. The main objective of this study was to assess the injury grade of the corticospinal tract (CST) in rats with glioma using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Conclusions: Diffusion tensor imaging may be used to quantify the injury degrees of CST involving brain glioma in rats. Our data suggest that these quantitative parameters may be used to enhance the efficiency of delineating the relationship between fiber tracts and malignant tumor
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