From Fiber Tracts to Tumor Spread: Biophysical Modeling of Butterfly Glioma Growth Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Weidner, Jonas, Ezhov, Ivan, Balcerak, Michal, Datchev, André, Zimmer, Lucas, Rueckert, Daniel, Menze, Björn, Wiestler, Benedikt
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Weidner, Jonas
Ezhov, Ivan
Balcerak, Michal
Datchev, André
Zimmer, Lucas
Rueckert, Daniel
Menze, Björn
Wiestler, Benedikt
author_facet Weidner, Jonas
Ezhov, Ivan
Balcerak, Michal
Datchev, André
Zimmer, Lucas
Rueckert, Daniel
Menze, Björn
Wiestler, Benedikt
contents Butterfly tumors are a distinct class of gliomas that span the corpus callosum, producing a characteristic butterfly-shaped appearance on MRI. The distinctive growth pattern of these tumors highlights how white matter fibers and structural connectivity influence brain tumor cell migration. To investigate this relation, we applied biophysical tumor growth models to a large patient cohort, systematically comparing models that incorporate fiber tract information with those that do not. Our results demonstrate that including fiber orientation data significantly improves model accuracy, particularly for a subset of butterfly tumors. These findings highlight the critical role of white matter architecture in tumor spread and suggest that integrating fiber tract information can enhance the precision of radiotherapy target volume delineation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_17707
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Fiber Tracts to Tumor Spread: Biophysical Modeling of Butterfly Glioma Growth Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Weidner, Jonas
Ezhov, Ivan
Balcerak, Michal
Datchev, André
Zimmer, Lucas
Rueckert, Daniel
Menze, Björn
Wiestler, Benedikt
Medical Physics
Butterfly tumors are a distinct class of gliomas that span the corpus callosum, producing a characteristic butterfly-shaped appearance on MRI. The distinctive growth pattern of these tumors highlights how white matter fibers and structural connectivity influence brain tumor cell migration. To investigate this relation, we applied biophysical tumor growth models to a large patient cohort, systematically comparing models that incorporate fiber tract information with those that do not. Our results demonstrate that including fiber orientation data significantly improves model accuracy, particularly for a subset of butterfly tumors. These findings highlight the critical role of white matter architecture in tumor spread and suggest that integrating fiber tract information can enhance the precision of radiotherapy target volume delineation.
title From Fiber Tracts to Tumor Spread: Biophysical Modeling of Butterfly Glioma Growth Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging
topic Medical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.17707