Tumor-induced modifications of resting-state networks in patients with glioma

Motivation: Gliomas affect the whole brain causing widespread network modifications. Goal(s): This study investigated the tumor effect on multiple brain networks using resting-state functional MRI. Approach: 147 glioma patients and 200 healthy controls (HCs) were included. After pre-processing, group-independent and group information-guided component analyses were used to extract brain networks. The cosine similarity of each patient’s network was compared to HCs. Chi-squared test was used to test associations with tumor location and grade. Results: Cognitive networks are selectively vulnerable to tumor growth. Functional alterations extend beyond tumor boundaries, and increase with WHO-grade. Tumor location in known eloquent areas exerts widespread effects on brain networks. Impact: We developed a methodology to quantify tumor-induced alterations of individual brain networks. These alterations extend beyond tumor boundaries, vary with network’s function, tumor location and grade. Understanding such abnormalities is crucial for managing cognitive disabilities before and after surgery.