Controllability and Robustness of Functional and Structural Connectomic Networks in Glioma Patients

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Anke Meyer-Baese - , Chair of Biomedical Engineering, Florida State University (Author)
  • Kerstin Jütten - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Uwe Meyer-Baese - , Florida State University (Author)
  • Ali Moradi Amani - , Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (Author)
  • Hagen Malberg - , Chair of Biomedical Engineering (Author)
  • Andreas Stadlbauer - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Thomas Kinfe - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Chuh-Hyoun Na - , RWTH Aachen University, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf (CIO ABCD) (Author)

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that the topological properties of structural and functional neural networks in glioma patients are altered beyond the tumor location. These alterations are due to the dynamic interactions with large-scale neural circuits. Understanding and describing these interactions may be an important step towards deciphering glioma disease evolution. In this study, we analyze structural and functional brain networks in terms of determining the correlation between network robustness and topological features regarding the default-mode network (DMN), comparing prognostically differing patient groups to healthy controls. We determine the driver nodes of these networks, which are receptive to outside signals, and the critical nodes as the most important elements for controllability since their removal will dramatically affect network controllability. Our results suggest that network controllability and robustness of the DMN is decreased in glioma patients. We found losses of driver and critical nodes in patients, especially in the prognostically less favorable IDH wildtype (IDHwt) patients, which might reflect lesion-induced network disintegration. On the other hand, topological shifts of driver and critical nodes, and even increases in the number of critical nodes, were observed mainly in IDH mutated (IDHmut) patients, which might relate to varying degrees of network plasticity accompanying the chronic disease course in some of the patients, depending on tumor growth dynamics. We hereby implement a novel approach for further exploring disease evolution in brain cancer under the aspects of neural network controllability and robustness in glioma patients.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2714
JournalCancers
Volume15
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - 11 May 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85160744061

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

DFG Classification of Subject Areas according to Review Boards

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • functional and structural connectomic networks, glioma