Magnetic resonance diffusion metrics indexing high focal cellularity and sharp transition at the tumour boundary predict poor outcome in glioblastoma multiforme.

AIM: To investigate the prognostic power of intra-tumoural and gradient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion metrics in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six consecutive patients with histologically confirmed GBM who had undergone preoperative diffusion tensor imaging at 3 T were included. Mean diffusivity (MD) and MD gradient maps were computed. Regions of interest were analysed to determine the minimum MD within the enhancing tumour (minMD). MD gradients were calculated along the enhancing tumour boundary and subjected to histogram analysis. Overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were derived and survival analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: There were 31 deaths and 37 patients progressed during the study period. Multivariate survival analysis, controlling for treatment and gender, showed that minMD values<6.1×10(-4) mm(2)/s predicted shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR]=2.82, 1.25-6.34; p=0.012) and TTP (HR=5.43, 1.96-15.05; p=0.001). Higher MD gradient values of the tumour boundary predicted shorter survival: MD gradient values >4.7×10(-5) mm(2)/s (10(th) centile) had a significantly shorter OS with a HR of 0.43 (0.19-0.96; p=0.04). Similarly, a value above 1.4×10(-4) mm(2)/s (75(th) centile) was a significant predictor for shorter OS (HR=0.39, 0.17-0.89; p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Lower minMD and higher MD gradient values for the 10(th) and 75(th) percentile of the tumour boundary demonstrated prognostic value in preoperative GBM. This suggests that MRI diffusion metrics indicative of higher focal cellularity and steeper transition from high cellular tumour edge to low cellular oedema define more aggressive glioblastoma subtypes with a poorer prognosis.

Metrics and textural features of MRI diffusion to improve classification of pediatric posterior fossa tumors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Qualitative radiologic MR imaging review affords limited differentiation among types of pediatric posterior fossa brain tumors and cannot detect histologic or molecular subtypes, which could help to stratify treatment. This study aimed to improve current posterior fossa discrimination of histologic tumor type by using support vector machine classifiers on quantitative MR imaging features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included preoperative MRI in 40 children with posterior fossa tumors (17 medulloblastomas, 16 pilocytic astrocytomas, and 7 ependymomas). Shape, histogram, and textural features were computed from contrast-enhanced T2WI and T1WI and diffusivity (ADC) maps. Combinations of features were used to train tumor-type-specific classifiers for medulloblastoma, pilocytic astrocytoma, and ependymoma types in separation and as a joint posterior fossa classifier. A tumor-subtype classifier was also produced for classic medulloblastoma. The performance of different classifiers was assessed and compared by using randomly selected subsets of training and test data. RESULTS: ADC histogram features (25th and 75th percentiles and skewness) yielded the best classification of tumor type (on average >95.8% of medulloblastomas, >96.9% of pilocytic astrocytomas, and >94.3% of ependymomas by using 8 training samples). The resulting joint posterior fossa classifier correctly assigned >91.4% of the posterior fossa tumors. For subtype classification, 89.4% of classic medulloblastomas were correctly classified on the basis of ADC texture features extracted from the Gray-Level Co-Occurence Matrix. CONCLUSIONS: Support vector machine-based classifiers using ADC histogram features yielded very good discrimination among pediatric posterior fossa tumor types, and ADC textural features show promise for further subtype discrimination. These findings suggest an added diagnostic value of quantitative feature analysis of diffusion MR imaging in pediatric neuro-oncology.

Atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia with two functionally discrete fast pathways.

We present a case with two forms of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) that revealed similar H-A-V sequences, but could be differentiated only by their retrograde atrial activation sequences. Both tachycardias were induced following anterograde slow pathway conduction, suggesting the slow pathway as the anterograde limb of the re-entry circuit. The earliest atrial activation site of one form was in the same region of the bundle of His as that of the common type of AVNRT, while that of the other form was the ostium of the coronary sinus. Properly timed extra-stimuli delivered from the atrium or ventricle during the latter tachycardia penetrated through the fast pathway without resetting the tachycardia cycle length. These rare phenomena suggest the existence of two functionally discrete fast pathways, of which the alternative pathway alters to become the more predominant retrograde limb according to time and circumstances.

Bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia with two distinct components of QRS complex due to simultaneous dual transseptal conduction.

We report the case of a patient with bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia having two distinct components of the QRS complex due to simultaneous dual transseptal conduction. The macroreentrant circuit consisted of anterograde conduction down the left bundle branch and retrograde conduction up the right bundle branch. Extensively injured myocardium in the interventricular septum isolated the two separate transseptal passages, which exhibited a "fast" and "slow" conduction property, respectively. The QRS configuration resulted from a wavefront propagating from the left bundle branch via "fast" transseptal conduction, followed by another more delayed wavefront propagating via "slow" transseptal conduction, which played an important role in determining this unique QRS morphology.