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Peripheral nerve tractography in soft tissue tumors: A preliminary 3‐tesla diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging study
Author(s) -
Kasprian Gregor,
Amann Gabriele,
Panotopoulos Joannis,
Schmidt Manfred,
Dominkus Martin,
Trattnig Siegfried,
Windhager Reinhard,
Prayer Daniela,
NöbauerHuhmann Iris
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.24313
Subject(s) - diffusion mri , magnetic resonance imaging , fractional anisotropy , peripheral , tractography , medicine , magnetic resonance neurography , soft tissue , sciatic nerve , infiltration (hvac) , nuclear medicine , anatomy , radiology , physics , thermodynamics
: This diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) study aimed to clarify the relationship of peripheral nerves and soft tissue tumors (STTs) in 3D to optimize subsequent treatment. Methods : Twenty‐six consecutive STT patients (histologically malignant, n = 10; intermediate, n = 3; and benign, n = 13) underwent 3‐Tesla MRI using an echoplanar DTI sequence. Deterministic tractography was performed. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were measured within peritumoral and distant regions of interest. Results : Tractography depicted the 3D course of the sciatic ( n = 12), femoral ( n = 2), tibial ( n = 7), fibular ( n = 2), median ( n = 1), musculocutaneous ( n = 1), and ulnar ( n = 1) nerves in a regular ( n = 8 of 18, 44.4%) or thinned ( n = 7 of 18, 38.9%) fashion. The lowest peritumoral FA values, abrupt thinning, and/or complete discontinuity of trajectories were found in 2 cases with histologically proven tumoral nerve infiltration. Conclusions : DTI clarifies the 3D topography between major peripheral nerves and STTs and may be helpful in the assessment of peripheral nerve infiltration by malignant tumors. Muscle Nerve 51: 338–345, 2015