Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025
The Clinical Application of Tumor Treating Fields Therapy in Glioblastoma
Published on: April 16, 2019
Diffusion tensor imaging in glioblastoma patients treated with volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy: a longitudinal
Anna Rydelius1,2, Björn Lampinen3, Andreas Rundcrantz1
1Department of Radiology, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Background:
Chemo- and radiotherapy (RT) is standard treatment for patients with high-grade glioma, but may cause side-effects on the patient's cognitive function.
Aim:
Use of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the longitudinal changes in normal-appearing brain tissue in glioblastoma patients undergoing modern arc-based RT with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) or helical tomotherapy.
Materials And Methods:
The study included 27 patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma and planned for VMAT or tomotherapy. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging at the start of RT and at week 3, 6, 15, and 26. Fourteen subjects were additionally imaged at week 52. The DTI data were co-registered to the dose distribution maps. Longitudinal changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD) were assessed in the corpus callosum, the centrum semiovale, the hippocampus, and the amygdala.
Results:
Significant longitudinal changes in FA, MD, and RD were mainly found in the corpus callosum. In the other examined brain structures, only sparse and transient changes were seen. No consistent correlations were found between biodose, age, or gender and changes in DTI parameters.
Conclusion:
Longitudinal changes in MD, FA, and RD were observed but only in a limited number of brain structures and the changes were smaller than expected from literature. The results suggest that modern, arc-based RT may have less negative effect on normal-appearing parts of the brain tissue up to 12 months after radiotherapy.
