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Research progress of MRI fractal analysis in glioma
LI Wenhui  TAN Yan 

Cite this article as: LI W H, TAN Y. Research progress of MRI fractal analysis in glioma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(10): 182-187. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.022.


[Abstract] Glioma is the most common primary malignant tumor in the central nervous system. Accurate preoperative grading, molecular subtyping, and prognostic evaluation are crucial for developing individualized treatment strategies. Fractal analysis, a quantitative method based on fractal geometry theory, enables the characterization of structural complexity, irregularity, and spatial heterogeneity by calculating parameters such as fractal dimension (FD) and lacunarity (LAC), and has been increasingly applied in MRI studies of gliomas in recent years. This review summarizes the current applications of fractal analysis in glioma MRI, highlights the limitations of inconsistent research findings and insufficient evidence for clinical translation, and discusses future directions, including standardized analytical workflows, multicenter validation, and prospective studies, to further clarify its clinical utility. It aims to provide insights into preoperative non-invasive assessment of gliomas and further research on MRI-based fractal analysis in gliomas.
[Keywords] glioma；magnetic resonance imaging；fractal analysis；fractal dimension；lacunarity

LI Wenhui1   TAN Yan2*  

1 College of Basic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030600, China

2 Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China

Corresponding author: TAN Y, E-mail: tanyan123456@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-07-06
Accepted  2026-09-14
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.022
Cite this article as: LI W H, TAN Y. Research progress of MRI fractal analysis in glioma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(10): 182-187. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.022.

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