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Apparent diffusion coefficient of intracranial germ cell tumors

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Abstract

The role of diffusion weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient in intracranial germ cell tumors has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the ADC correlates with the histologic subtypes of germ cell tumors. We also aimed to investigate whether the ADC values can predict treatment response. The authors retrospectively analyzed the ADC values of the enhancing and solid regions of germ cell tumors. The absolute ADC values and the normalized ADC values were compared among different histologic diagnoses. The ADC values before and after the first course of chemotherapy were also compared between the different prognostic groups. Ten patients were included in the study. The median age at diagnosis was 9.3 years (range 5.3–13.8 years). There were four patients with germinoma and six patients with nongerminomatous germ cell tumor (NGGCT) including five mixed germ cell tumors and one immature teratoma. The mean absolute and normalized ADC values (×10−3 mm2/s) were significantly lower in germinomas [0.835 ± 0.065 (standard deviation) and 1.11 ± 0.096, respectively] than in NGGCTs (1.271 ± 0.145 and 1.703 ± 0.223, respectively) (p = 0.01). The ADC values before and after the first course of chemotherapy were available in four patients. The ADC value after the first chemotherapy had a tendency to increase more in patients who eventually demonstrated complete response with chemotherapy than in patients who required second-look surgery. Assessment of the ADC values of germ cell tumors is considered to facilitate differentiation of histological subtypes of germ cell tumors. Evaluation of the ADC may also be useful for predicting treatment response.

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There are no conflicts of interest and there is no financial disclosure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosurgery, National Center for Child Health and Development, Okura 2-10-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Hideki Ogiwara & Nobuhito Morota

  2. Division of NeuroRadiology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Okura 2-10-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Yoshiyuki Tsutsumi

  3. Division of Pathology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Okura 2-10-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Kentarou Matsuoka

  4. Division of NeuroOncology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Okura 2-10-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Chikako Kiyotani & Keita Terashima

Authors
  1. Hideki Ogiwara
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  2. Yoshiyuki Tsutsumi
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  3. Kentarou Matsuoka
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  4. Chikako Kiyotani
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  5. Keita Terashima
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  6. Nobuhito Morota
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Correspondence to Hideki Ogiwara.

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Ogiwara, H., Tsutsumi, Y., Matsuoka, K. et al. Apparent diffusion coefficient of intracranial germ cell tumors. J Neurooncol 121, 565–571 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-014-1668-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-014-1668-y

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