A comprehensive neuroimaging review of the primary and metastatic brain tumors treated with immunotherapy: current status, and the application of advanced imaging approaches and artificial intelligence.

Journal: Frontiers in immunology
PMID: 39669560

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a novel clinical therapeutic option for a variety of solid tumors over the past decades. The application of immunotherapy in primary and metastatic brain tumors continues to grow despite limitations due to the physiological characteristics of the immune system within the central nervous system (CNS) and distinct pathological barriers of malignant brain tumors. The post-immunotherapy treatment imaging is more complex. In this review, we summarize the clinical application of immunotherapies in solid tumors beyond the CNS. We provide an overview of current immunotherapies used in brain tumors, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), oncolytic viruses, vaccines, and CAR T-cell therapies. We focus on the imaging criteria for the assessment of treatment response to immunotherapy, and post-immunotherapy treatment imaging patterns. We discuss advanced imaging techniques in the evaluation of treatment response to immunotherapy in brain tumors. The imaging characteristics of immunotherapy treatment-related complications in CNS are described. Lastly, future imaging challenges in this field are explored.

Authors

  • Xiang Liu
    College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230009, China.
  • Hongyan Chen
    Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, China.
  • Guirong Tan
    Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Yuebei People's Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, Guangdong, China.
  • Lijuan Zhong
    Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Yuebei People's Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, Guangdong, China.
  • Haihui Jiang
    Department of Neurosurgery, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
  • Stephen M Smith
    Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
  • Henry Z Wang
    Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.

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