Imaging Genomics in Gliomas

During the last decade, imaging has become the cornerstone for noninvasive diagnosis of different disorders and is currently being used by physicians all over the world. With the emergence of novel advanced imaging techniques that allow microstructural as well as functional tissue characterization along with the extensive work done by The Cancer Genome Atlas focusing on mapping genomic changes in glioblastoma, new correlations have been discovered between alterations at the genomics level and radiological imaging features in cancer patients. This has marked the beginning of a new era in clinical sciences, the era of "imaging genomics," which aims at establishing relationship between radiological imaging features and genomic characteristics of tumors. This article reviews the fundamentals of imaging genomics in glioma, its role in noninvasive genomic detection, and its future potential in personalized treatment planning.