The Role of Advanced Brain Tumor Imaging in the Care of Patients with Central Nervous System Malignancies

• Published in: Current treatment options in oncology Vol. 19; no. 8; pp. 40 - 19
• Main Authors: Ly, K. Ina, Gerstner, Elizabeth R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Brain cancer; Brain tumors; Central nervous system; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolism; Neuro-oncology (GJ Lesser; Neuroimaging; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Oncology; Patients; Perfusion; Section Editor; Topical Collection on Neuro-oncology; Functional MRI; Brain tumors; PET; Radiomics
• ISSN: 1527-2729; 1534-6277; 1534-5277
• DOI: 10.1007/s11864-018-0558-5

Opinion statement T1-weighted post-contrast and T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) constitute the gold standard for diagnosis and response assessment in neuro-oncologic patients but are limited in their ability to accurately reflect tumor biology and metabolism, particularly over the course of a patient’s treatment. Advanced MR imaging methods are sensitized to different biophysical processes in tissue, including blood perfusion, tumor metabolism, and chemical composition of tissue, and provide more specific information on tissue physiology than standard MRI. This review provides an overview of the most common and emerging advanced imaging modalities in the field of brain tumor imaging and their applications in the care of neuro-oncologic patients.