Tissue-type MRI of brain tumours
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tissue-type magnetic resonance imaging of brain tumours
IRAS ID
230146
Contact name
Franklyn A Howe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumour. They can be “high-grade” with rapid growth and short patient survival times, or “low-grade” with very slow growth and survival of up to a decade with minimal symptoms. Gliomas infiltrate surrounding brain tissue and also cause inflammation, hence the edges of the tumour are difficult to define. Tissue within and around gliomas is varied, comprising high- and low-grade regions with surrounding brain that looks abnormal but does not contain tumour. When patients undergo surgery or radiotherapy, a plan of the tumour is made from a standard set of Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) data, and for optimal treatment we would map out these different tissue types as accurately as possible. However, current clinical MRI is limited in its ability to do this.
We are developing a computer program that combines the information from several different types of MRI and creates a 3D image that maps out the various tumour and brain tissue types. 3D tissue maps calculated by our computer program could be integrated into the usual treatment planning process to enable better delineation of the tumour regions to improve patient outcome:
i) To indicate the best place from which to obtain a small piece of tumour for analysis to help diagnosis.
ii) To help a surgeon plan the optimal removal of tumour core with avoidance of functioning brain tissue.
iii) To ensure the maximum radiotherapy dose is delivered to the most aggressive part of the tumour while keeping the dose to surrounding brain low.This project will acquire a specific set of MRI scans that when combined enable creation of 3D tissue maps. We will acquire data from brain tumour patients as well as healthy volunteers to calibrate our computer program and assess its accuracy to aid diagnosis and brain tumour mapping.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0460
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion