Applications of Advanced Imaging for Radiotherapy Planning and Response Assessment in the Central Nervous System

Area of Science:

• Neuro-oncology
• Radiotherapy
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Radiotherapy for central nervous system (CNS) tumors can be enhanced by advanced imaging techniques.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) offer new possibilities for treatment planning and response assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent developments in MRI and PET for CNS radiotherapy.
• To highlight applications in glioma and brain metastasis treatment.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of recent articles on advanced MRI and PET in CNS radiotherapy.
• Focused on MRI-linear accelerators, PET, and contrast-enhanced/metabolic imaging.
• Searches of scholarly databases (Google Scholar, PubMed) were conducted.

Main Results:

• Advanced MRI and PET can significantly impact CNS radiotherapy, allowing earlier tumor response assessment in gliomas.
• Combined imaging/therapy devices (e.g., MR-Linacs) enable real-time response monitoring.
• Imaging techniques sensitive to perfusion or metabolism may differentiate radiation necrosis from tumor progression in brain metastases.

Conclusions:

• Advanced MRI and PET hold significant promise for transforming CNS radiotherapy standards.
• Clinical trials are crucial to validate specific applications and support widespread adoption.