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Project

The neuro-oncological connectome: towards hub-driven analyses and neurocognition-sparing treatments for brain tumors

Every year more than 300.000 patients are newly diagnosed with a brain tumor worldwide. These patients often suffer from long-term cognitive deficits, which hugely affects their quality of life. Brain maturation and degeneration in adult and pediatric patients, respectively, are affected by the lesion itself, as well as by each treatment constituent (including neurosurgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy). Initial neural damage can lead to cascade effects resulting in profound reorganization of the brain network, or so-called ‘connectome’. However, primary targets of toxicity and the resulting connectome topology in survivors remain inconclusive. In this project, we will address the specific hypothesis on selective vulnerability of the most strongly connected areas (i.e. 'hubs') to induced neurotoxicity, and its clinical impact. By combining connectome-based information from multimodal MR imaging, radiotherapy dosimetry, in-depth neurocognitive assessments from patients and a preclinical MR experiment, we will address neurotoxic mechanisms, their dose-response susceptibility in hubs versus non-hubs, as well as the functional neurocognitive impact of damage to hubs in this population. This will become increasingly important in order to spare these areas of induced toxicity as much as possible, and to limit neurocognitive sequelae in future treatments. The ultimate objective of the applicant is to work towards connectome-based optimization of the treatment of brain tumors.

Date:1 Oct 2021 →  31 Jul 2022
Keywords:neuro-oncology, brain connectome, cognitive functioning
Disciplines:Cognitive neuroscience, Developmental neuroscience, Neurological and neuromuscular diseases, Cancer therapy, Clinical toxicology