Imaging biomarkers of angiogenesis and the microvascular environment in cerebral tumours

Abstract

Conventional contrast-enhanced CT and MRI are now in routine clinical use for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases in the brain. The presence of contrast enhancement is a proxy for the pathological changes that occur in the normally highly regulated brain vasculature and blood-brain barrier. With recognition of the limitations of these techniques, and a greater appreciation for the nuanced mechanisms of microvascular change in a variety of pathological processes, novel techniques are under investigation for their utility in further interrogating the microvasculature of the brain. This is particularly important in tumours, where the reliance on angiogenesis (new vessel formation) is crucial for tumour growth, and the resulting microvascular configuration and derangement has profound implications for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. In addition, novel therapeutic approaches that seek to directly modify the microvasculature require more sensitive and specific biological markers of baseline tumour behaviour and response. The currently used imaging biomarkers of angiogenesis and brain tumour microvascular environment are reviewed.

Brain perfusion and permeability in patients with advanced, refractory glioblastoma treated with lomustine and the transforming growth factor-β receptor I kinase inhibitor LY2157299 monohydrate

“…The results indicated that LY2157299 in combination with lomustine does not reduce rCBV and permeability, as previously described for anti-angiogenic drugs such as bevacizumab or cediranib (32). A number of anti-angiogenic agents have been investigated for their potential ability to treat glioblastoma, and various imaging techniques, such as perfusion MRI and dynamic susceptibility weighted MRI, have been proposed to measure responses to treatment (33). Whilst lomustine monotherapy has not specifically been evaluated as an anti-angiogenic agent, a recent study observed its anti-angiogenic effect as part of a combination therapy of procarbazine, lomustine and vincristine (34).…”

The Evaluation of Durative Transfusion of Endostar Combined with Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

“…In vitro, Endostar (a recombinant human endostatin) can inhibit the growth of human lung adeno­carcinoma cell line SPC-A4, the migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC), and angiogenesis of the chorioallantoic membrane [15]. Furthermore, Endostar can suppress tumour growth in mouse models (S180 sarcoma, H22 liver cancer) and human xenograft models (SPC-A4 lung adenocarcinoma, SGC7901 gastric cancer, HeLa cervical cancer, SMMC-7721 and Bel7402 liver cancer).…”

The investigation of changes in proteins expression (Apolipoprotein A1 and albumin) in malignant astrocytoma brain tumor

“…As such, angiogenesis is one on of the major there poetic targets for the development of never therapies. [7] A number of drugs that block angiogansis are in clinical development. Early clinical studies have employed antibodies or small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors.…”