Journal Article

Virtual brain tumours (gliomas) enhance the reality of medical imaging and highlight inadequacies of current therapy

Swanson, K R, Murray, J D, Alvord, E C

2002

Overview

Gliomas are brain tumours that differ from most other cancers by their diffuse invasion of the surrounding normal tissue and their notorious recurrence following all forms of therapy. We have developed a mathematical model to quantify the spatio-temporal growth and invasion of gliomas in three dimensions throughout a virtual human brain. The model quantifies the extent of tumorous invasion of individual gliomas in three-dimensions to a degree beyond the limits of present medical imaging, including even microscopy, and makes clear why current therapies based on existing imaging techniques are inadequate and cannot be otherwise without other methods for detecting tumour cells in the brain. The model's estimate of the extent of tumourous invasion beyond that defined by standard medical imaging can be useful in more accurately planning therapy regimes as well as predicting sites of potential recurrence without waiting for reemergence on follow-up imaging.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Applied mathematics / Biological and medical sciences / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Brain - pathology / Brain cancer / Brain Neoplasms - mortality / Brain Neoplasms - pathology / Brain Neoplasms - therapy / Brain research / Cancer Research / Clinical / Computerized, statistical medical data processing and models in biomedicine / Drug Resistance / Epidemiology / Glioma - mortality / Glioma - pathology / Glioma - therapy / Humans / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Mathematical models / Medical imaging / Medical research / Medical sciences / Models and simulation / Molecular Medicine / Motility / Oncology / Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Tumors