QUANTITATIVE MORPHOMETRIC ALTERATIONS OF PERICELLULAR AND PERIVASCULAR SPACES AS HISTOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF MRI SIGNAL CHANGES IN BRAIN TUMORS: A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 273 CASES

Abstract

Brain tumors remain one of the most diagnostically challenging entities in neuro-oncology. Despite remarkable advances in MRI technology, the histological basis of specific MRI signal characteristics — particularly T2/FLAIR hyperintensity and contrast enhancement patterns — is incompletely understood at the quantitative morphometric level. While sensitivity and specificity of MRI for brain tumor detection are well-documented, systematic correlation between MRI semiotics and quantitative tissue architecture parameters, such as pericellular space (PCS) and perivascular space (PVS), has not been established in the Central Asian patient population.