Radiogenomics and imaging phenotypes in glioblastoma: novel observations and correlation with molecular characteristics

Abstract

Radiogenomics is a provocative new area of research based on decades of previous work examining the association between radiological and histological features. Many generalized associations have been established linking anatomical imaging traits with underlying histopathology, including associations between contrast-enhancing tumor and vascular and tumor cell proliferation, hypointensity on pre-contrast T1-weighted images and necrotic tissue, and associations between hyperintensity on T2-weighted images and edema or nonenhancing tumor. Additionally, tumor location, tumor size, composition, and descriptive features tend to show significant associations with molecular and genomic factors, likely related to the cell of origin and growth characteristics. Additionally, physiologic MRI techniques also show interesting correlations with underlying histology and genomic programs, including associations with gene expression signatures and histological subtypes. Future studies extending beyond simple radiology-histology associations are warranted in order to establish radiogenomic analyses as tools for prospectively identifying patient subtypes that may benefit from specific therapies.