A scan pattern that may help tell two brain cancers apart
Original title: Validation of the "purfling sign" for differentiating primary central nervous system lymphoma from high-grade glioma: a retrospective multicenter cohort study.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a look back at past scans in people, not a new treatment.
The short version
A pattern on brain scans may help doctors tell a brain lymphoma from a glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary.
What was studied. Doctors looked back at MRI brain scans from 209 people with brain lymphoma and 285 with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary. Two radiologists checked each scan for a pattern called the purfling sign.
What they found. The sign showed up in 100 of the lymphoma cases, which was 47.80%. It showed up in only 34 of the glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary cases, which was 11.93%. Overall, the sign pointed to the right answer 71.05% of the time.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This pattern may help doctors feel more sure when they read a brain scan. The study treats it as one extra clue, not a test on its own. It may support the choices a care team makes.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment. It is about reading scans, so it changes nothing about drugs or surgery. The sign was missing in more than half of the lymphoma cases. A scan without it does not rule lymphoma out. This was a look back at old records, not a new trial. It is not a cure, and it is not a promise of one.
Source: PubMed, August 10, 2026 · Read the original
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