Serial Changes in Diffusion Imaging Parameters Vary with Treatment Regimen for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme

Laleh Jalilian¹, Emma Essock-Burns², Yan Li¹, Soonmee Cha^1,3, Susan Chang³, Michael Prados³, Nicholas Butowski³, Sarah J. Nelson^1,2

Despite advances in treatment modalities, patients with glioblastoma multiforme have an overall survival of 15 months. Anti-angiogenic therapies administered with temozolomide have been reported to cause restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), which may serve as an adjunct to the assessment of therapy response. In this study, 100 newly diagnosed GBM patient were administered either a) temozolomide alone, b) temozolomide and a protein kinase C inhibitor, or c) temozolomide and a VEGF antibody. The results demonstrate that imaging biomarkers used to predict response and prognosis to therapy need to be tailored to take into account the specific treatment regimen being considered.