Yue Cao1, Felix Y. Feng, Diana Gomez-Hassan2,
James A. Hayman, Theodore S. Lawrence, Christina I. Tsien
1Radiology and Radiation Oncology,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; 2Radiology,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
The
response of metastatic lesions to whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) is
highly heterogeneous. In this study,
we evaluated quantitative metrics derived from DCE MRI for early assessment
of response of brain metastatic lesions to WBRT. We found that changes in vascular volume
and perfusion at the completion of WBRT differentiated responsive lesions
from non-responsive ones. These DCE
metrics have the potential for early prediction of treatment response in
brain metastases. This requires further validation, but may provide a means
for individualizing therapy in patients with brain metastases by selecting
patients requiring treatment intensification with stereotactic RT.