Abstract
Principal Investigator: Lars Ewell
Title of Project: Diffusion Weighted MRI and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to
Differentiate Radiation Necrosis and Recurrent Disease in Gliomas
The abstract is a concise summary of the project’s long-term, and specific aims as related to the research
being proposed. Describe concisely the research design and methods for achieving the goals. Avoid
summaries of past accomplishments and the use of the first person. This abstract is meant to serve as a
succinct and accurate description of the proposed work when separated from the application. If the
proposal is funded, the abstract, as is, will become public information. Therefore, do not include
proprietary/confidential information. The abstract is different from the Lay Summary. Do not exceed 150
words in the abstract
A difficulty encountered in the diagnosis of patients with gliomas is the differentiation
between recurrent disease and Radiation Induced Necrosis (RIN). Both can appear as
‘enhancing lesions’ on a typical T2 weighted MRI scan. Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy (MRS) and Diffusion Weighted MRI (DWMRI) have the potential to be
helpful regarding this differentiation. MRS has the ability to measure the concentration of
brain metabolites, such as Choline, Creatin and N- Acetyl Aspartate, the ratios of which
have been shown to discriminate between RIN and recurrent disease. DWMRI has been
linked via a rise in the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) to successful treatment of
disease. Using both of these complimentary non-invasive imaging modalities, we intend
to initiate an imaging protocol whereby we will study how best to combine metabolite
ratios and ADC values to obtain the most useful information in the least amount of scan
time.
(RFP No. 6-200)