Matthew Grech-Sollars1, Dawn E. Saunders2, Kim P. Phipps3, Jonathan D. Clayden1, Chris A. Clark1
1Imaging and Biophysics Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom; 2Department of Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom; 3Department of Neuro-oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom
The functional diffusion map (fDM) has been suggested as a tool for early detection of tumour treatment efficacy. Theoretically, on its own, a change in size in necrotic areas does not necessarily give an indication of whether the tumour is responding well to treatment or not. We analysed data from 11 patients with brain stem tumours and built fDM maps of the necrotic regions of the tumour from the ADC images. The fDM in necrotic areas did not appear to correlate with survival. We hypothesize that areas of necrosis can act as a confounding factor in the fDM.