Modeling Neurodegeneration in Patients with Visual Pathway Tumors by Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, high-resolution imaging technique that was suggested to be a powerful biomarker of neurodegeneration. The objective of our study is to assess the pattern of retinal OCT changes in patients with visual pathway tumors.

A prospective clinical study was conducted and patients with single cerebral tumors with potential of compression on the visual pathway were included. Patients with multiple and/or metastatic tumors were excluded. Each patient underwent a neurosurgical and ophthalmologic evaluation, cranial-cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, and ocular OCT in both eyes. The OCT parameters included circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (average and sector thickness) and retinal thickness in the macular area (average and sector thickness).

Fifty patients were investigated clinically and by magnetic resonance imaging, and 18 patients were excluded. Thirty-two patients were eligible for the study and completed the retinal OCT. Eighteen patients had tumors with compressive potential on the optic chiasm, 11 patients had tumors close to the optic radiations, and 3 patients had tumors in the occipital lobe. A specific pattern of OCT changes was found for each site. Regional parameters of both optic nerve and macula were altered.

Retinal OCT is a promising tool for the in vivo assessment of the neurodegeneration pattern in patients with intracranial tumors. The evaluation of single intracranial tumors with compressive potential on the visual pathway is a good candidate for the study of neurodegeneration.