Intracranial hemangioblastomas: CT and MR findings

The CT and magnetic resonance (MR) findings in eight patients with 10 biopsy-proven intracranial hemangioblastomas were reviewed. Three of these patients had von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome. Nine tumors were infratentorial, seven were cystic, and five had well-defined mural nodules. The only three solid tumors, the only brain stem tumor, and the only supratentorial tumor in this series occurred in VHL patients. Magnetic resonance detected a single tumor missed by CT, and no lesion seen on CT was missed by MR. The tumor nodule, when present, was identified in every case using MR, although it was usually more apparent on contrast-enhanced CT. In three cases MR was better than CT in defining the margins of posterior fossa tumors. Serpentine vessels were well seen as flow voids against high signal cyst or tumor on T2-weighted images, but contrast-enhanced CT also demonstrated them. Magnetic resonance was found superior to CT for the detection of intracranial hemangioblastomas, and complementary in their characterization.