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Basic and Translational Investigations |
Departments of Neurological Surgery (D.A.L., S.C., E.K., M.S.B.), Radiology (S.C., M.C.M., M.-H.C.), and Neuropathology (S.V.), University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Address correspondence to Daniel A. Lim or Mitchel S. Berger, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus St., M779, Box 0112, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA (limd{at}neurosurg.ucsf.edu or bergerm{at}neurosurg.ucsf.edu).
| Abstract |
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Key Words: glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) MRI neural stem cell subventricular zone (SVZ) tumor stem cell
| Introduction |
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We identified a subset of GBMs that are more likely to be SVZ stem cell - related based on the spatial relationship of the tumor to the SVZ, involvement of cortex, multifocality, and recurrence pattern. Another GBM subset is more likely related to non-SVZ progenitor cells or dedifferentiated glial cells. This study provides MRI evidence suggesting a relationship between a subset of GBMs and tumor stem cells in the SVZ.
| Materials and Methods |
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All patients underwent the same preoperative MRI protocol, which consisted of a three-plane localizer sequence (8.5/1.6 ms [TR/TE]), an axial fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) sequence (10,000/148/2,200 [TR/TE/TI]), an axial fast spin-echo T2-weighted sequence (3,000/102, echo train length 16, matrix 256 x 196), axial diffusion-weighted imaging (10,000/99, b = 1,000 s/mm2), and a postcontrast three-dimensional spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition in the steady state (SPGR; 34/8) T1-weighted sequence. Postoperatively, we obtained additional postcontrast imaging in the coronal and axial planes.
A neuroradiologist (S.C.) and MRI research assistant (M.C.M.) reviewed each tumor for the following on preoperative imaging: distance of contrast-enhancing lesion (CEL) to nearest ventricle, infiltration of CEL into cortex, volume of CEL, and anatomical location of the primary (largest volume) CEL. Multifocal disease at initial diagnosis was recognized by the presence of CELs or nonenhancing FLAIR lesions not typical of nonspecific white matter disease and suspicious for tumor that were noncontiguous with the primary CEL. Distances and volumes were measured with qBrain (Medis Medical Imaging, Leesburg, VA, USA). Tumor recurrence, determined based on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images, was defined as a new or progressive increase in CEL, within the initial surgical resection site and/or in a remote location. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The likelihood ratio test of independence was used to evaluate the incidence rate of multifocal GBM among groups. Assuming there is a natural ordering in severity among groups (group I is more severe than group II, group II is more severe than group III, etc.), the Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to assess the association between the incidence rate and group order. To assess the contribution of individual variables (SVZ contact, cortical involvement, patient age, and tumor volume) to the incidence of multifocal GBM, we performed both univariate and multivariate analyses, as described in Results.
| Results |
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Multifocal GBM is suggestive of a more invasive and migratory tumor phenotype, a feature more common to stem-cell-derived cancer.16 We therefore examined the incidence of multifocal GBM among the four groups defined above. Patients with group I GBMs had the highest frequency of multifocal disease (Fig. 2A-C) at initial diagnosis (9 of 16 patients, 56%). In contrast, patients with group IV tumors did not have multifocal disease. Patients with group II and III GBMs had multifocal disease in 11% and 29% of cases, respectively. There was a significant difference in the incidence of multifocal GBM among the four groups (p = 0.001, likelihood ratio test of independence). In addition, the results of Cochran-Armitage exact trend test indicated that the incidence of multifocal GBM was highest for group I and lowest for group IV (two-sided test, p = 0.002).
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Follow-up MRI was available for 11 of 16 group I patients (follow-up period of 5-23 months) and 13 of 14 group IV GBM patients (follow-up period of 3-38 months). For the 11 evaluable group I GBM patients, tumors recurred in all cases, and CELs were always found in locations noncontiguous with the primary lesion(s), in addition to recurrence at the resection cavity (Fig. 2D,E). Nine of these 11 patients had CELs in distant SVZ locations (contralateral in two cases), and two had CELs in noncontiguous brain parenchyma (contralateral in one case). For the 13 evaluable group IV GBM patients, 10 had tumor recurrence contiguous with the resection cavity, and none had any evidence of noncontiguous tumor.
| Discussion |
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Group I GBMs may be most closely related to SVZ neural stem cells. The physical association of malignant glioma with the SVZ has led neuropathologists to suggest that these tumors arise from this region of the brain.11-13 This hypothesis is supported by the results of animal model experiments involving viral or carcinogen transformation of SVZ cells and resultant tumor formation.10 Recently, Zhu et al.9 demonstrated that p53 inactivation cooperates with NF1 loss to induce GBM formation from mouse SVZ astrocytes; intriguingly, these SVZ-derived tumors usually contact the SVZ and infiltrate the cortex like human group I GBMs (Fig. 2F,G).
The multifocality at diagnosis and recurrence pattern of group I GBMs suggest that the cell of origin of this tumor type is highly migratory and invasive (see Fig. 2H). Neural stem cells express matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)—proteolytic enzymes implicated in tumor cell metastasis—and although the adult brain as a whole does not express MMPs, gliomas overexpress certain MMPs, leading to increased invasiveness (reviewed in Yong et al.17). It is possible that gliomas arising from stem cells maintain neural stem cell MMP expression. The SVZ region, or niche, may also be highly permissive for both tumor growth and cellular migration, allowing tumor stem cells and their progeny to rapidly proliferate and migrate under the ependyma.
In this study, group IV GBMs occurred as solitary lesions and recurred only around the resection cavity of the initial tumor, suggesting that these tumor cells are less migratory than their group I counterparts. Group IV GBMs were not intimately associated with the SVZ (and often displaced the SVZ away with their mass), suggesting that these tumors arise from non-SVZ progenitor cells. Progenitor cells expressing the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan NG2 (neuronal/glial 2) are found throughout adult human brain.18 In the mouse, NG2+ progenitor cells from non-SVZ regions have a very limited migration potential, whereas NG2+ cells from the SVZ migrate long distances.19
The distinguishing characteristic between group I and group II tumors in this study is cortical invasion. What might account for the presence or absence of this phenotype? In their analysis of asymptomatic mice with early GBMs arising from p53-, NF1- astrocytes, Zhu et al.9 demonstrate that not all SVZ-associated gliomas infiltrate the cortex. Perhaps the difference between the two classifications is simply a temporal consequence: Some human group II GBMs are simply group I GBMs that have yet to reach the cortex at the time of imaging. Alternatively, it is possible that some group II GBMs are derived from later-lineage cells with less migration/invasion potential.
Zhu et al.9 additionally describe mice with gross GBM lesions noncontiguous with the SVZ; in these mice, microscopic cellular abnormalities are present in the SVZ. This pattern of microscopic SVZ cellular abnormality and distant GBM mass lesion(s) is suggestive of a mechanism in which SVZ tumor stem cells produce migratory tumorigenic daughter cells; these daughter cells take up residence in locations distant from the SVZ, where they then proliferate to form a mass. This migratory tumor progenitor cell hypothesis15 may account for the MRI findings of group III tumors: SVZ cellular abnormalities may be below the threshold of detection by MRI, but the distant mass lesions arising from migratory tumorigenic daughter cells are easily apparent on typical MRI sequences. Postmortem analysis of patients with group III GBM would be useful to investigate this hypothesis.
Our results do not directly address whether GBMs can arise from the SVZ. It is likely that for GBM there will be different cells of origin, each with different clinical and pathological presentations. Because it will be difficult to directly determine the cell of origin in humans, it is important to draw parallels between animal model data and actual human disease. Our findings suggest a testable hypothesis for animal models of glioma, that tumors from NG2+ SVZ cells are more invasive and migratory than tumors induced from NG2+ non-SVZ progenitors. Group I GBM may be enriched for CD133+ tumor stem cells in comparison to group IV GBM. It will also be valuable to compare the genomic profile of tumors in the different GBM groups to understand their different biological behaviors (e.g., cortical infiltration between group I and II) on a molecular level, as well as to make comparisons to human neural stem cells.
There is great interest in classifying GBMs for prognosis. Currently, age and KPS are the two most significant prognostic factors.20 Gene expression profiling holds promise for GBM classification;21 however, transcriptional profiling is not performed routinely. In contrast, nearly all patients with GBM are diagnosed and followed with MRI. Classifying GBMs based on their MRI features may allow a practical yet powerful tool for the assessment of patient prognosis and treatment decisions.
Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, the median survival for GBM has remained between 9 and 12 months.22 The potential of SVZ neural stem cells to divide asymmetrically combined with the migratory potential of SVZ-derived neural progenitors may contribute to the treatment-resistant nature of GBM.15 Based on our preliminary results, it is possible that patients who present with group I GBM lesions will benefit from radiation therapy that includes distant SVZ locations. Perhaps group IV GBM lesions would be the most amenable to regional therapy (e.g., convection-enhanced delivery of immunotoxins), given that this group of tumors recurs only locally. Follow-up studies will be required to conclusively address the clinical value of MRI for assessing GBM SVZ and/or cortical involvement, but the preliminary results presented here appear promising for this type of tumor analysis.
Received for publication September 1, 2006. Accepted for publication January 4, 2007.
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