Brain Alterations in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patients after Chemotherapy based Multiplex MR imaging: A longitudinal MRI study

Motivation: The objective of this study was to examine the potential impact of chemotherapy on the brain in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using Multiplex (MTP) MR imaging sequence, which generate multiple contrasts with one-time scan. Goal(s): We aimed to investigate the altered MTP parameters and their correlation with clinical cognitive scores before and after chemotherapy. Approach: All patients underwent MTP imaging, and the data were analyzed using BrainTool software. Results: The findings revealed that patients who underwent chemotherapy exhibited reduced brain volume and elongated T2Star in some brain regions, although no significant correlation was observed with clinical cognitive scores. Impact: The newly MTP MR sequence can evaluate brain alterations in NPC patients following chemotherapy. The observed decrease in volume values and increase in T2Star properties within brain regions may suggest neuron and myelin sheath damages in NPC patients after chemotherapy.