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Initial Condition Assessment for Reaction-Diffusion Glioma Growth Models: A Translational MRI-Histology
Corentin Martens1,2,3, Laetitia Lebrun4, Christine Decaestecker2,3
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.
Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
|November 29, 2021
Summary
Glioma growth models need accurate initial tumor cell density. This study finds MRI-based tumor outlines may overestimate cell density, suggesting limitations for current glioma modeling. Further research is needed for better initialization methods.
Area of Science:
- Neuro-oncology
- Computational Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Reaction-diffusion models are used to simulate glioma growth but require accurate initial tumor cell density distributions.
- Current methods often rely on correlating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities with tumor cell density, but these correlations require validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To histologically validate the relationship between MRI-visible abnormalities and actual tumor cell density in glioblastoma.
- To assess the accuracy of MRI-derived tumor boundaries for initializing reaction-diffusion models.
Main Methods:
- Stereotactic histological analysis of a glioblastoma brain using a 3D-printed slicer.
- Deep learning for cell density map computation from histological slides.
- Registration of cell density maps to postmortem MRI and correlation with geodesic distance to the tumor core.
- Investigation of the relationship between T2-FLAIR edema outlines and tumor core distance.
Main Results:
- An exponential decrease in tumor cell density with distance from the core is a reasonable approximation.
- Edema outlines on T2-FLAIR MRI do not precisely correspond to a specific tumor cell density iso-contour.
- The tumor cell density at edema outlines is likely overestimated by current assumptions.
Conclusions:
- Conventional MRI has limitations in accurately deriving glioma cell density maps for model initialization.
- Existing methods for initializing reaction-diffusion models based on MRI may overestimate tumor extent.
- Novel initialization strategies are necessary for the clinical application of reaction-diffusion models in glioma treatment planning.
