Serial computed tomography (CT) plays an integral part in monitoring effects of therapy for primary anaplastic brain tumors. Despite advances in CT technology, clinicians often cannot obtain accurate quantitative volume information to complement the qualitative assessment of tumor change. This paper presents a microcomputer-based method that provides both quantitative volume measurements and 3-D reconstructions of primary anaplastic brain tumors based on their hard copy CT or magnetic resonance imaging studies. The findings of this study demonstrate that planimetry is feasible for routine clinical use and is superior in accuracy to the spherical geometric model, which is shown to significantly overestimate tumor volume. The findings of 62 quantitative tumor studies (17 patients) showed a direct relationship between the total tumor volume and the volume of the hypodense intratumor core. There was no evidence of a relationship between the total tumor volume and the amount of peritumor low density (edema).
Astrocytoma Brain Neoplasms