European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) MRI guidelines for imaging patients with central nervous system tumours

Abstract

Introduction Standardisation of imaging acquisition is essential in facilitating multicentre studies related to childhood CNS tumours. It is important to ensure that the imaging protocol can be adopted by centres with varying imaging capabilities without compromising image quality. Materials and method An imaging protocol has been developed by the Brain Tumour Imaging Working Group of the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) based on consensus among its members, which consists of neuroradiologists, imaging scientists and paediatric neuro-oncologists. This protocol has been developed to facilitate SIOPE led studies and regularly reviewed by the imaging working group. Results The protocol consists of essential MRI sequences with imaging parameters for 1.5 and 3 Tesla MRI scanners and a set of optional sequences that can be used in appropriate clinical settings. The protocol also provides guidelines for early post-operative imaging and surveillance imaging. The complementary use of multimodal advanced MRI including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MR spectroscopy and perfusion imaging is encouraged, and optional guidance is provided in this publication. Conclusion The SIOPE brain tumour imaging protocol will enable consistent imaging across multiple centres involved in paediatric CNS tumour studies.

Imaging response assessment for CNS germ cell tumours: consensus recommendations from the European Society for Paediatric Oncology Brain Tumour Group and North American Children's Oncology Group

“…[37][38][39] Overall, the proposed brain and spine protocol, detailed below, is largely compatible with the recently published Response Assessment in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (RAPNO) guidelines for medulloblastoma, 36 low-grade gliomas, 40 high-grade gliomas 41 and the SIOPE CNS tumours imaging protocol. 42 Standards for brain imaging MRI is the primary imaging modality for evaluating GCT and should be performed as detailed in Table 1. The essential standard protocol for tumour assessment includes the following sequences: a) T1-weighted images before and after GBCA administration, b) T2-weighted images, c) fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) images, and d) diffusion-weighted (DWI or DTI) images.…”

Incidence and survival for childhood central nervous system tumours in Australia, 1983–2016

“…As technology has improved, so has the accuracy of diagnosis and CNS tumour classification. Improved availability and use of magnetic resonance imaging has resulted in increased detection and more consistent categorisation [23,24], especially for low grade tumours. Alterations to coding during the study period also provide a plausible explanation for some of the observed changes in incidence rate trends by behaviour and histology.…”

The impact of 1.5-T intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging in pediatric tumor surgery: Safety, utility, and challenges

“…For intraoperative imaging, with minor changes regarding specific tumor types, radiological sequences were the same as those used in a preoperative imaging protocol following the SIOPE Brain Tumor Group guidelines [3D T1, axial T2 fast spin echo (FSE), coronal T2 FSE, axial diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), contrast administration, and 3D T1 turbo field echo (TFE) and 3D FLAIR]. Two additional planes of FSE= fast spin echo; T2-weighted imaging were acquired for posterior fossa tumors ( 17 ). In intracranial tumors, volumetric assessment by manual segmentation was performed using Elements software (BrainLab, Germany).…”