Hoang-Vu Doan Tran1,2, Matthew Scoggins1, Robert Ogg1, Nicholas Phillips1, Kathleen Helton1, Zoltan Patay1, Alberto Broniscer1, Claudia Hillenbrand1
1Radiological Science, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA; 2Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, USA
Diffuse pontine gliomas are a heterogeneous group of lesions that account for 15% of all pediatric central nervous system tumors. Conventional MR imaging allows for the assessment of tumor location and focality but does little in terms of assessing tumor involvement in different tract compartments. This is the first study. We saw tumor involvement in tracts. The tract involvement and the ADC parameter seem to be a predictor of clinical outcome. This is an ongoing trial and we are in the process of acquiring and analyzing a larger number of patient exams in order to further assess the relationship of treatment effectiveness and tract involvement in pediatric pontine tumors.