Abstract #0757

Pollack E, Young R, Babb J, Johnson G, Jensen J, Helpern J, Law M, Lu H

Cerebral glioma is an aggressive form of brain tumor characterized by angiogenesis and breakdown of blood-brain-barrier. The extent of these hemodynamic changes is known to be correlated with the grade of the tumor. Using a recently developed Vascular-Space-Occupancy (VASO) MRI technique that is sensitive to changes in both CBV and vascular permeability, we examined the relationship between VASO parameters and the tumor grade in 39 patients with primary glial neoplasms. The results show different VASO parameters in grade 1, 2 and 3 gliomas, and both VASOTumor (p=0.0006) and VASORatio (p=0.0004) can be used as a significant predictor of tumor grades.