Longitudinal monitoring of Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes in head and neck cancer patients

In this study, our objective was to analyze and describe the sequential quantitative changes in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of primary tumors and nodal target volumes in a preliminary group of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who underwent treatment using the MR-Linac system. Following the principles of the R-IDEAL framework, our study falls under Stage 2a. This investigation provides a unique opportunity to assess DWI measurements acquired throughout the entire radiotherapy (RT) course, enabling us to quantify changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) on a weekly basis. Additionally, we aimed to establish correlations between these observed changes and the patients' response to RT as well as subsequent oncologic outcomes