Untapped Neuroimaging Tools for Neuro-Oncology: Connectomics and Spatial Transcriptomics

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Oncology
• Radiology

Background:

• Neuroimaging, particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is crucial for brain tumor diagnosis and monitoring.
• Structural and perfusion MRI sequences are standard for characterizing tumors.
• Normative analyses, using average brain templates, are underutilized in neuro-oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and frame the application of normative analyses in neuro-oncology research.
• To explore the potential of normative analyses in understanding brain tumors through advanced imaging techniques.
• To highlight the unexplored possibilities in connectomics and imaging transcriptomics within neuro-oncology.

Main Methods:

• Transformation of structural brain MRI into an average brain template for retrospective group analysis.
• Performing voxel-wise analyses and spatial mapping on normalized data.
• Utilizing functional, structural, and spatial transcriptomics templates for comprehensive investigations.

Main Results:

• Previous normative analyses have revealed links between tumor traits and location.
• Insights into neural circuitry related to tumors causing epilepsy and post-surgical depression have been observed.
• The full potential of normative analyses, especially in connectomics and imaging transcriptomics, remains largely untapped.

Conclusions:

• Normative analyses provide a unique perspective for neuro-oncology research.
• This framework facilitates a deeper understanding of brain tumors by integrating imaging, connectomics, and transcriptomics.
• Further exploration of normative analyses is encouraged to address complex neuro-oncology questions.