In Vivo Validation of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient as a Quantitative Imaging Biomarker for MRGuided Adaptive Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients benefit from radiotherapy (RT) combined with chemotherapy more than surgery, but can still experience debilitating side effects. Adaptive RT, in which a treatment plan is updated periodically throughout the course of RT to account for changes in a tumor and the surrounding tissues, promises to reduce these side effects. This can become a clinical reality with hybrid MRI/linear accelerator (MR-linac) systems. These systems can be used to adapt treatment plans based on anatomical changes and physiological response measured by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) during RT. DWI is a quantitative imaging technique that provides information about the underlying structure of tissues by displaying this information as a spatial map of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). We aim to validate if ADC reliably predicts HNSCC response and can be leveraged to guide treatment decisions.
