RADIOTHERAPY RESPONSE OF CEREBRAL METASTASES QUANTIFIED BY SERIAL MR-IMAGING

A patient with cerebral metastases, treated with radiotherapy, underwe nt serial gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging. The MR images were quantifie d using home developed software to evaluate the changes in volumes of tumor mass and edema after radiotherapy (mean precision of the quantif ication technique less than 5%). The decrease in tumor volume and edem a observed after radiotherapy preceded clinical improvement. The prese nted technique can be used to accurately assess, more directly than us ing clinical scales, the effect of putative therapies.