Angiogenic Profile and Non-invasive Imaging May Predict Tumor Progression of High Risk Group Low Grade Glioma (LGG)

The low grade glioma (LGG) is a type of brain tumor which is generally more common in younger age group patients. Most patients with LGG undergo surgery which is mostly incomplete due to concern about loss of function. This is an incurable disease. More than half of these patients progress to a higher grade with a worse outcome within five years of their diagnosis and only one-third survive for up to ten years. Post-operative radiation treatment improves local control without survival advantage. Efforts are being made without great success to select the patients with a higher risk of progression based on physical characteristics and histological features.

Tumor vascularity is thought to be the key element in tumor progression. Tremendous progress has been made in functional imaging by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 3-Tesla (3T) and in biotechnology which can be used to investigate angiogenic gene profiles in order to identify gene signature for these tumors. In this study the investigators are proposing that patients of LGG with a higher risk of tumor progression may be selected by functional imaging and angiogenic profiles. These higher risk patients may be candidates for post-operative radiation in the future with a potential survival benefit.