Benjamin M. Ellingson1,2, Scott D. Rand1,2,
Mark G. Malkin1,3, Robert Prost2, Jennifer M. Connelly1,4,
Pete S. LaViolette1,5, Devyani P. Bedekar1,2, Kathleen
M. Schmainda1,2
1Translational Brain Tumor Program,
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; 2Dept.
of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; 3Dept.
of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI,
United States; 4Dept. of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, WI, United States; 5Dept. of Biophysics, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
The
objective of the current study was to develop a voxel-wise analytical
solution to a glioma growth model using serial diffusion MRI in order to
spatially map and quantify regions of microscopic tumor invasion and
proliferation. Results demonstrate a strong correlation between proliferation
rate and MR spectroscopic measurements of choline-to-N-acetylaspartate ratio.
Proliferation rate and cell motility rates were shown to increase with
increasing malignancy, as well as easily distinguish between radiation
necrosis and recurrent tumor. This technique may be valuable for assessing
tumor dynamics and predicting response to treatment in all types of cancers.