A review of micro- and macrovascular analyses in the assessment of tumor-associated vasculature as visualized by MR

There is currently no noninvasive, reliable method of assessing brain tumor malignancy or of monitoring tumor treatment response. Monitoring changes to tumor vasculature might provide an effective means of assessing both tumor aggressiveness and treatment efficacy. To date, most such research has concentrated upon tumor “microvascular” imaging, with permeability and/or perfusion imaging used to assess vessel changes at the subvoxel level. An alternative approach assesses tumor vasculature at the “macroscopic” level, calculating the numbers and shapes of the larger vessels discriminable by magnetic resonance angiography. This paper provides an overview of magnetic resonance (MR) vascular imaging at both the microscopic (dynamic MR perfusion and permeability) and macroscopic (MR angiographic) levels. The two approaches provide different, complementary information and together could provide important insights into cancer growth as well as new methods of assessing malignancy and tumor treatment response.