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Updated: Jan 8, 2026
Digital Spatial Profiling for Characterization of the Microenvironment in Adult-Type Diffusely Infiltrating Glioma
Published on: September 13, 2022
Quantitative susceptibility mapping for the comprehensive assessment of adult-type diffuse gliomas
Pengxin Shen1, Yangyang Li1, Wenji Xu1
1Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province 030001, PR China; College of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province 030001, PR China.
Objectives:
To comprehensively evaluate the value of intratumoral susceptibility signals (ITSS) and regional susceptibility values on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) for adult-type diffuse glioma grading, molecular typing, prognosis, and recurrence prediction based on the 2021 World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors (WHO CNS).
Methods:
A total of 70 pathologically confirmed adult-type diffuse glioma patients were retrospectively analyzed. The number of ITSS was evaluated on QSM, and susceptibility measurements were performed in regions of relatively high susceptibility, and relatively low susceptibility within the tumor. The associations of ITSS and regional susceptibility values with glioma WHO grade, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mutation, Ki67 expression, prognosis, and recurrence were evaluated.
Results:
ITSS grading was significantly associated with glioma WHO grade, IDH status, 1-year survival, and recurrence (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.049, p = 0.005, respectively). Relatively high tumor susceptibility was significantly correlated with glioma WHO grade, IDH status, MGMT promoter methylation, and Ki67 labeling index (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.034, p = 0.025, respectively). Relatively low tumor susceptibility had limited value in evaluating the WHO grade, molecular markers, prognosis, and recurrence of gliomas. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed significantly better overall survival for ITSS grade 0 compared to grades 1-3 (p = 0.01), and multivariate analysis identified it as an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.042).
Conclusions:
Noninvasive imaging parameters extracted from QSM images can reflect glioma WHO grade, molecular markers, prognosis, and recurrence risk. These preliminary findings showed that the QSM might be a noninvasive imaging biomarker for comprehensive evaluation of adult-type diffuse gliomas.
