Personalized radiation targeting for glioblastoma using brain pathway maps and tumor biomarkers
Official title: Multi-Modality Modeling of Glioblastoma Progression: Integrating DTI and Prognostic Biomarkers for Personalized Radiation Therapy Targeting
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11371823 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project combines special MRI brain pathway images and tumor molecular markers to create more personalized radiation targets for people with glioblastoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $414,402 |
| NIH project number | 1R21CA303378-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11371823 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma who have high-quality pre-operative DTI and anatomical MRI along with tumor molecular biomarker data and who are planning radiation therapy.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without usable pre-operative DTI or molecular biomarker data, those with non-glioblastoma brain tumors, or those unable to undergo MRI are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If you participate, your pre-surgery MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and tumor biomarker results would be combined with data from over 500 patients to build maps showing where tumor cells are most likely to spread along white matter pathways. These "infiltrative risk" maps would be used to propose personalized radiation target areas that aim to cover hidden tumor cells while protecting healthy brain. The research team will use AI models to learn population patterns and adjust targets based on biomarkers such as MGMT methylation and TERT mutations. The ultimate aim is to produce tools clinicians can use to plan more precise radiation for future patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce tumor recurrences and treatment side effects by better focusing radiation on areas most likely to harbor microscopic disease while sparing healthy brain.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies show DTI can map white matter tracts and biomarkers predict outcomes, but combining DTI-based infiltrative mapping with molecular markers to guide radiation targeting is largely novel and not yet proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lin, Hui — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Lin, Hui
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.