Use of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging data in planning focal radiation therapeies for brain tumors

english

2002

volume 21, issue 2

Brain neoplasms    Diagnosis    Radiotherapy    Magnetic resonance imaging    Nuclear magnetic resonance    Radiosurgery    Neoplasm staging 

Društvo za stereologijo in kvantitativno analizo slike
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Advances in radiation therapy for malignant neoplasms have produced techniquessuch as Gamma Knife radiosurgery, capable of delivering an ablative dose to a specific, irregular volume of tissue. However, efficient use of these techniques requires the identification of a target volume that will produce the best therapeutic response while sparing surrounding normal brain tissue. Accomplishing this task using conventional computed tomography (CT) and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques has proven difficult because of the difficulties in identifying the effective tumor margin. Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) has been shown to offer a clinically-feasible metabolic assessment of the presence and extent ofneoplasm that can complement conventional anatomic imaging. This paper reviews current Gamma Knife protocols and MRSI acquisition, reconstruction, and interpretation techniques, and discusses the motivation for including magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings while planning focal radiation therapies. A treatment selection and planning strategy incorporating MRSI is then proposed, which can be used in the future to assess the efficacy of spectroscopy-based therapy planning.

16.09.2009