Differentiating skull base chordomas and invasive pituitary adenomas with conventional MRI

BackgroundIt is difficult to distinguish between invasive pituitary adenomas(IPAs) and skullbase chordomasbased on tumor location and clinical manifestations.PurposeTo investigate the value of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), T2-weighted (T2W) imaging, and dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) in differentiating skullbase chordomasand IPAs.Material and MethodsData for 21 patients with skullbase chordomasand 27 patients with IPAs involving the paranasal sinus were retrospectively reviewed, and all diagnoses were pathologically confirmed. Each patient underwent conventional 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including, ADC, T2W imaging, and DCE sequences. Regions of interest were drawn in the mass and in normal white matter on ADC maps and T2W imaging. The mean ADC, normal ADC, T2W imaging signal intensity (SI), and relative T2-weighted (rT2W) imaging values were measured. DCE parameters, including types of time signal-intensity curves (TIC), enhancement peak (EP), and maximum contrast enh...