CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2024; 34(03): 533-538
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1778727
Case Series

Additional Role of 3D ASL Perfusion in Skull Base Lesions

1   Department of Radiodiagnosis, Barnard Institute of Radiology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
1   Department of Radiodiagnosis, Barnard Institute of Radiology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
› Author Affiliations
Funding None.

Abstract

Background Arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging is widely used since its main advantage is that no intravenous contrast is needed. Given that perfusion is a crucial biological characteristic for identifying tumor lesions, the qualitative noncontrast perfusion characteristics of these lesions were examined.

Aim We attempted utilizing the three-dimensional (3D) ASL technique to characterize skull base lesions and to highlight its crucial role in differentiating lesions.

Methods and Material 3D ASL imaging of 20 patients with posterior skull base lesions was performed in a 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) system (Siemens Healthineers, Skyra, Erlangen, Germany). The common differential diagnoses of skull base lesions could be distinguished based on this qualitative evaluation.

Results and Conclusions Glomus tumor has a strikingly increased perfusion when compared to meningiomas. The perfusion characteristics of metastasis depends on the primary tumor. Chondrosarcomas have a heterogeneously increased perfusion. Chordomas have variable perfusion, which helps in prognosticating the tumors. ASL benefits pediatric patients and in renal failure as well since it avoids the ethical ambiguity associated with contrast agents.

Availability of Data and Material

The data are taken solely from our institution.


Authors' Contributions

J.F.N. did the major writeup of this case series. The majority of the cases in this review article were diagnosed by S.B.P. and followed up by J.F.N. The work was carried under the guidance of S.B.P. who provided us with insight and knowledge to diagnose indeterminate lesions with imaging alone.




Publication History

Article published online:
27 January 2024

© 2024. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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