Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and deadly form of brain tumour. Despite surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, most patients experience tumour recurrence within months, and overall survival remains dismally low. One of the key challenges in treating GBM is that standard imaging tools do not capture the full complexity of the tumour microenvironment — particularly the physical barriers that block drug delivery and promote tumour progression.
GLIOBID addresses this problem by developing and applying advanced imaging techniques to non-invasively measure the biomechanical properties of brain tumours, such as tissue stiffness, viscosity, and pressure. These properties are deeply linked to the biological processes that drive tumour invasion, vascular collapse, and therapy resistance. By mapping how tumours change mechanically in response to treatment, GLIOBID aims to create a new way to monitor whether therapies are working — much earlier and more precisely than what current MRI scans allow.
The project uses Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE), an imaging technique that uses Magnetic resonance Imaging to measure how tissue behave when vibrations are sent. The resulting data provide a “biomechanical fingerprint” of the tumour. The main objectives of GLIOBID are:
1. To measure how therapy affects tumour stiffness, viscosity, and vascular structure.
2. To use MRE to estimate tumour pressure non-invasively.
3. To translate these advanced MRE tools into the clinical setting.
Ultimately, GLIOBID aims to support better treatment planning and monitoring in glioblastoma — a critical unmet medical need in Europe and worldwide.
