Effect of brain tumor neovasculature defined by rCBV on BOLD fMRI activation volume in the primary motor cortex

We utilized blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and MR perfusion imaging methods to study the influence of brain tumor neovascularity on the BOLD fMRI activation volume in the primary motor cortex (PMC). The results from 57 brain tumor cases demonstrated that, for grade IV gliomas only, decreases in the BOLD fMRI activation volumes within the ipsilateral PMC, when compared with that observed in the contralateral PMC, correlated with increases in the relative regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) in the PMC. In addition, relative increases in the activation volumes, corresponding to decreases in the rCBV, exhibited a linear dependence on the distance between the grade IV glioma and PMC. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that decreases in the fMRI activation volumes adjacent to a GBM may, in part, be due to the increased contribution of aberrant tumor neovascularity, with the resultant de-coupling of blood flow from neuronal activity. The nature of the relationship between the resulting activation volumes and adjacent tumor characteristics is complex, but is found to be dependent on the tumor grade and type, as well as the distance of the tumor to the PMC.