3D Amide Proton Transfer-Weighted Imaging for Grading Glioma and Correlating IDH Mutation Status: Added Value to 3D Pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin Labelling Perfusion

Purpose The goal of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 3D amide proton transfer-weighted (3D-APTW) imaging and 3D pseudocontinuous arterial spin labelling (3D-pCASL) alone and in combination in grading gliomas (low-grade glioma (LGG) vs. high-grade glioma (HGG)) and correlating isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status. Procedures Preoperatively, 81 patients with pathologically confirmed gliomas underwent 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. The APTW, relative APTW (rAPTW), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and relative CBF (rCBF) values were calculated to evaluate the solid components of the tumours. The MRI parameters were compared in the classification of gliomas by independent- and paired-samples t tests. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the diagnostic performance of each parameter and the combination of the rAPTW and rCBF values. Results Patients with HGG showed significantly higher APTW, rAPTW, CBF, and rCBF values than those with LGG (all p < 0.001). In the ROC curve analysis, the AUC of rAPTW was the highest at 0.90. By adding the rAPTW signal to the rCBF values, the diagnostic ability of the combined parameters improved from 0.90 to 0.96. The rAPTW value yielded the highest AUC (0.92) in correlating the IDH mutation status, and the diagnostic ability improved to 0.96 by adding it to the rCBF value. Conclusion 3D-APTW imaging combined with 3D-pCASL imaging may be used to aid assessment of grading glioma and IDH mutation status.