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Abstract #0620

Assessing the Effects of Radiation Therapy on Normal Brain Tissue in Patients with Glioma Using Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging at 7 Tesla

Janine M. Lupo1, Cynthia Chuang2, Bert Jimenez1, Susan M. Chang3, Igor J. Barani2, Christopher P. Hess1, Sarah J. Nelson1,4

1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, United States; 3Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, United States; 4Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, United States


The potential effects of radiotherapy on neurocognitive ability and quality of life has recently become of great importance as new treatments extend survival in less malignant grade brain tumors. We used Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging at 7T to evaluate the long-term effects of radiation therapy on normal-appearing brain tissue in 20 glioma patients. Microbleeds appeared in irradiated patients after 2 years from receiving therapy, but not in patients treated with only chemotherapy. The prevalence of these lesions increased over time since receiving radiation therapy. The majority of these microbleeds resided within tissue that received 98% of the maximum dose.