Cancer Res. 2012 Jan 15;72(2):402-7. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-2464. Epub 2011 Nov 29.

Increased survival of glioblastoma patients who respond to antiangiogenic therapy with elevated blood perfusion.

Sorensen AG, Emblem KE, Polaskova P, Jennings D, Kim H, Ancukiewicz M, Wang M, Wen PY, Ivy P, Batchelor TT, Jain RK.

Source

AA. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. sorensen@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

Erratum in

Cancer Res. 2012 Mar 1;72(5):1316.
Cancer Res. 2012 Jan 15;72(2):doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-0113.

Abstract

The abnormal vasculature of the tumor microenvironment supports progression and resistance to treatment. Judicious application of antiangiogenic therapy may normalize the structure and function of the tumor vasculature, promoting improved blood perfusion. However, direct clinical evidence is lacking for improvements in blood perfusion after antiangiogenic therapy. In this study, we used MRI to assess tumor blood perfusion in 30 recurrent glioblastoma patients who were undergoing treatment with cediranib, a pan-VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Tumor blood perfusion increased durably for more than 1 month in 7 of 30 patients, in whom it was associated with longer survival. Together, our findings offer direct clinical evidence in support of the hypothesis that vascular normalization can increase tumor perfusion and help improve patient survival.