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• Clinical Article •
Functional brain activity alterations in acute leukemia: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of fMRI studies
LU Ying  ZHANG Qin  DING Hui 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.005.


[Abstract] Objective To identify consistent alterations in brain functional activity in patients with acute leukemia (AL) compared with healthy controls (HCs) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analytic approach, and to explore the potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying these changes.Materials and Methods This study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42025117006). A systematic search was conducted for studies published before October 16, 2025, that used task-based or resting-state fMRI to investigate brain functional alterations in AL patients. Eligible studies were selected according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The ALE meta-analysis was performed using the GingerALE software with cluster-level family-wise error (cFWE) correction, and the results were visualized using Mango software. The reproducibility of the findings was further assessed using Jackknife sensitivity analysis and cluster-level reproducibility analysis.Results Seven studies were included, comprising 102 AL patients and 96 HCs. Among them, six studies involved acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and one study involved acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Compared with HCs, AL patients exhibited significantly decreased activation in the left postcentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left middle frontal gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and right cerebellar culmen (P < 0.05, cluster volume = 1088 - 1672 mm3). These clusters were reproduced in 4, 4, 4, 3, and 3 of 5 Jackknife analyses, respectively. Conversely, increased activation was observed in the right cerebellar tonsil (P < 0.05, cluster volume = 1760 mm3), which remained significant across all 5 Jackknife iterations.Conclusions The ALE meta-analysis revealed abnormal functional activity in key brain regions, including the somatosensory cortex, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and cerebellum, in patients with AL. These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for AL-related brain functional alterations and may facilitate a better understanding of AL-related brain dysfunction.
[Keywords] acute leukemia；functional magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance imaging；activation likelihood estimation；brain function；meta-analysis

LU Ying1   ZHANG Qin2   DING Hui2*  

1 School of Basic Medicine, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang 550025, China

2 Department of Radiology, the Second People's Hospital of Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550004, China

Corresponding author: DING H, E-mail: 857747438@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-12-10
Accepted  2026-05-09
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.005
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.005.

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