Kazuo Hanakawa

Role of 3D-TOF magnetic resonance angiography for intracranial meningioma

Three-dimensional (3D) time of flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in 13 patients with intracranial meningioma. 3D-TOF unenhanced MRA depicted arterial displacement by tumour, and poorly demonstrated the sinuses, veins and tumour mass. The direct visualization of the venous abnormalities on 3D-TOF MRA was improved by the administration of contrast material. 3D-TOF enhanced MRA simultaneously depicted tumour enhancement, arterial and/or venous displacement, and dural sinus involvement by the tumour, all of which were in good agreement with findings on conventional cerebral angiography. However, MRA tended to poorly demonstrate the feeding arteries as compared to conventional angiography. Our results indicate that multiview 3D-TOF enhanced MRA non-invasively provides important information about the topographic relationship between tumour mass and the surrounding vasculature.