Unsupervised Deep Learning for Blood-Brain Barrier Leakage Detection in Diffuse Glioma Using Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MRI

Purpose To develop an unsupervised deep learning framework for generalizable blood-brain barrier leakage detection using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, without requiring pharmacokinetic models and arterial input function estimation. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included data from patients who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI between April 2010 and December 2020. An autoencoder-based anomaly detection approach identified one-dimensional voxel-wise time-series abnormal signals through reconstruction residuals, separating them into residual leakage signals (RLSs) and residual vascular signals. The RLS maps were evaluated and compared with the volume transfer constant (K^trans) using the structural similarity index and correlation coefficient. Generalizability was tested on subsampled data, and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status classification performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results A total of 274 patients (mean age, 54.4 years ± 14.6 [SD]; 164 male) were included in the study. RLS showed high structural similarity (structural similarity index, 0.91 ± 0.02) and correlation (r = 0.56; P < .001) with K^trans. On subsampled data, RLS maps showed better correlation with RLS values from the original data (0.89 vs 0.72; P < .001), higher peak signal-to-noise ratio (33.09 dB vs 28.94 dB; P < .001), and higher structural similarity index (0.92 vs 0.87; P < .001) compared with K^trans maps. RLS maps also outperformed K^trans maps in predicting IDH mutation status (AUC, 0.87 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.91] vs 0.81 [95% CI: 0.76, 0.85]; P = .02). Conclusion The unsupervised framework effectively detected blood-brain barrier leakage without pharmacokinetic models and arterial input function. Keywords: Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MRI, Unsupervised Learning, Feature Detection, Blood-Brain Barrier Leakage Detection Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2025 See also commentary by Júdice de Mattos Farina and Kuriki in this issue.