The Functional Diffusion Map Provides Early Prediction of Recurrence in a Glioma Model Following Radiotherapy

Benjamin Lemasson¹, Stefanie Galbn², Fei Li¹, Kevin Heist¹, Alnawaz Rehemtulla¹, ², Craig Galbn¹, Brian Ross¹

The goal of this study was to evaluate the functional diffusion map (fDM) as a biomarker of tumor recurrence on an animal-by-animal basis following different doses of radiation (1G, 2G and 4G) on a genetically engineered murine GBM model. Tumor size and fDM were monitor daily for a week and then every two days. We observed a large inter- and intra-group variability of time-to-recurrence. The maximum fDM_rADC+ values measured during radiation therapy was correlated strongly to time-to-recurrence (R2=0.85). fDM_rADC+ technique may serve as a biomarker of tumor recurrence that is insensitive to the response heterogeneity typically observed in GBM.