Abstract

Background: Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is used for monitoring purposes for lower-grade glioma (LGG). While the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is clinically used, various DWI models have been developed to better understand the micro-environment. However, the validity of these models and how they relate to each other is currently unknown. Therefore, this study assesses the validity and agreement of these models.

Methods: Fourteen post-treatment LGG patients and six healthy controls (HC) underwent DWI MRI on a 3T MRI scanner. DWI processing included diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), white matter tract integrity (WMTI), neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), and fixel-based analysis (FBA). Validity was assessed by delineating surgical cavity, peri-surgical cavity, and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in LGG patients, and white matter (WM) in HC. Spearman correlation assessed the agreement between DWI parameters.

Results: All obtained parameters differed significantly across tissue types. Remarkably, WMTI showed that intra-axonal diffusivity was high in the surgical cavity and low in NAWM and WM. Most DWI parameters correlated well with each other, except for WMTI-derived intra-axonal diffusivity.

Conclusion: This study shows that all parameters relevant for tumour monitoring and DWI-derived parameters for axonal fibre-bundle integrity (except WMTI-IAS-Da) could be used interchangeably, enhancing inter-DWI model interpretability.

Original languageEnglish
Article number551
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine
Volume14
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan-2025

Keywords

  • diffusion kurtosis imaging
  • diffusion tensor imaging
  • fixel-based analysis
  • neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging
  • white matter tract integrity

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