Superselective angio-CT of brain tumors

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of superselective angio-CT in the diagnosis of astrocytoma. METHODS: Nineteen patients with astrocytomas had superselective angio-CT before chemotherapeutic agents were administered via superselective intraarterial infusion. CT was performed after contrast material was delivered through a microcatheter, which had been advanced into the feeding arteries of the tumor, Superselective angio-CT scans were compared with digital subtraction angiograms, conventional contrast-enhanced CT scans, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images. RESULTS: Superselective angio-CT scans depicted contrast enhancement of the tumor in all of the patients and the medullary veins of the tumors in 32% of the patients. Digital subtraction angiograms showed tumor stains in 68% of the patients and the medullary veins in only 5%. Conventional CT scans and MR images showed contrast enhancement of the tumor in 89% of the patients. Superselective angio-CT scans confirmed the proper position of the catheter tip for the infusion of a chemotherapeutic agent. CONCLUSIONS: Superselective angio-CT can be used to depict contrast enhancement of tumors and the vascular structures that are characteristic of astrocytomas.