Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41704949›Full record

ArticlePhysics and imaging in radiation oncology2026

Advanced diffusion MRI tractography for radiotherapy planning in pediatric brain tumors: A feasibility study.

Madan Maitre, Adam Yeo, Gabrielle Drum, Richard Beare, Nicholas Hardcastle, Kirsty Wiltshire, Greg Wheeler, Joseph Yuan-Mou Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Physics and imaging in radiation oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Madan MaitreDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Adam YeoDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Gabrielle DrumDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Richard BeareDevelopmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
Nicholas HardcastleDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Kirsty WiltshireDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Greg WheelerDivision of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Joseph Yuan-Mou YangNeuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Service (NACIS), Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and purpose: Cranial radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors can damage white matter tracts (WMTs), adversely impacting brain development. This study evaluated the feasibility of integrating advanced diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography-derived WMTs into radiotherapy planning for pediatric supratentorial high-grade tumors. Materials and methods: The study retrospectively recruited eight patients (aged 8-16 years) who had undergone surgery and curative-intent radiotherapy from January 2012 to June 2022. The pre-radiotherapy dMRI was utilized to reconstruct the target and 29 individual WMT masks selected based on their relevance to neurocognition, motor, language, and visual functions. These WMT masks were classified into five distance-based priority groups based on their proximity to the tumor, and were subsequently used to re-optimize radiotherapy plans. The dose-volume metrics of the tract-optimized plans were compared to the standard treated plans using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: In all cases, the tract-optimized plans achieved a significant dose reduction to the normal brain compared with standard plans across various dose levels (D Conclusion: Integrating advanced dMRI tractography into radiotherapy plan can enable functional sparing of critical WMTs without compromising target coverage for pediatric supratentorial high-grade brain tumors.

Indexed as

Brain radiotherapyDiffusion MRI tractographyFunctional sparingPediatric brain tumorWhite matter tracts

Identifiers

PMID41704949
PMCPMC12907833

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.