Abstract 3071: A method for infratentorial structures segmentation for tumor treating fields treatment planning

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Tumor treating fields (TTFields) is an FDA approved treatment for the management of glioblastoma multiform (GBM) and mesothelioma (MPM) and is associated with a significant extension to patients' survival. We have developed software to optimize the location of the TTFields transducer arrays (TAs) on GBM patients' head to maximize the field in the tumor region. To that end, we first segment the patients' head MRIs into five normal and three abnormal tissues. However, the current method for head segmentation was found to be less accurate at the infratentorial regions, mark some sinuses with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and does not identify the cerebellum and brain-stem. Therefore, it is assuming the infratentorial structures have the same electrical properties as in the cerebrum. Methods: We have developed a new method for segmentation of the head MRI that overcomes these limitations. As in the previous method, we have incorporated an atlas that is composed of an MRI image and tissue probability maps (TPM). The TPM assign each voxel in the atlas MRI with a value in the range of 0-1. This value reflects the probability that the specific tissue resides in that voxel. We have generated new customized TPMs for the cerebellum, brain stem and sinuses. Moreover, we have carefully revised the other TPMs to ensure best results. Last, we have incorporated these TPMs in a new atlas-based segmentation method. We have validated the method on 10 GBM patients T1w +gad head MRIs. Results: The average Dice coefficient between gold-standard and algorithms' segmentation was 68.4% (SD=11.2%) that is similar to the value observed with the current method implemented in the treatment-planning software (67.8%; SD=10.6%). However, the new method presented here extends the current method with the cerebellum (average Dice = 84%) and brainstem (average Dice = 67%). Moreover, the sinuses are marked with air, and erroneous CSF segments in the sinuses were removed. Conclusions: We have presented a novel method for the segmentation of the head that facilitates accurate infratentorial and supratentorial structures' segmentation. Moreover, the method eliminates erroneous CSF segmentation in the sinuses. These improvements pave the way for TTFields planning for infratentorial tumors. Citation Format: Yana Glozman, Reuben R. Shamir, Zeev Bomzon. A method for infratentorial structures segmentation for tumor treating fields treatment planning [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 3071.