Quantification of antiangiogenic therapy response in Glioblastoma multiforme in a rodent model

• Applicant: Professor Felix Kurz, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317283311

Glioblastoma multiforme is an aggressive and common brain tumor whose growth is dependent on tumor-associated microvascular proliferation. A failure to respond to antiangiogenic therapies goes along with a reduced median survival. The aim of this project is to develop a dynamic quantitative method that reliably and non-invasively identifies changes in the intratumoral microvasculature in a rodent model. To accomplish this, the principles of vessel architectural imaging (VAI), that was successfully used in human MR-imaging, will be adapted and extended for rodent imaging. The project aims at deriving a mathematical relation between typical parameters of VAI and microstructural parameters. In addition, a VAI MR sequence will be implemented at a high-field MR scanner with consideration of the typical dynamics of contrast agents in rodents. The developed methods will be evaluated in comparison with results from in vivo multiphoton laser microscopy of glioblastoma mice undergoing antiangiogenic therapy. A sensitive method to detect and quantify vessel network changes will contribute to a more thorough understanding of the disease's pathophysiology and will be the starting point for the development and evaluation of other antiangiogenic treatments.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants