Myoinositol to Total Choline Ratio in Glioblastomas as a Potential Prognostic Factor in Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2021 Aug 15;61(8):453-460. doi: 10.2176/nmc.oa.2020-0312. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Abstract

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type diffuse astrocytic tumors tend to be pathologically diagnosed as glioblastomas (GBMs). We previously reported that myoinositol to total choline (Ins/Cho) ratio in GBMs on magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy was significantly lower than that in IDH-mutant gliomas. We then hypothesized that a low Ins/Cho ratio is a poor prognosis factor in patients with GBMs, IDH-wild-type. In the present study, we calculated the Ins/Cho ratios of patients with GBMs and investigated their progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) to determine their utility as prognostic marker. We classified patients with GBMs harboring wild-type IDH (n = 27) into two groups based on the Ins/Cho ratio, and compared patient backgrounds, pathological findings, PFS, OS, and copy number aberrations between the high and low Ins/Cho groups. Patients with GBMs in the low Ins/Cho ratio group indicated shorter PFS (P = 0.021) and OS (P = 0.048) than those in the high Ins/Cho group. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the Ins/Cho ratio was significantly correlated with PFS (hazard ratio 0.24, P = 0.028). In conclusion, the preoperative Ins/Cho ratio can be used as a novel potential prognostic factor for GBM, IDH-wild-type.

Keywords: glioblastoma; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; myoinositol.

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Brain Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Choline
  • Glioblastoma* / diagnostic imaging
  • Glioblastoma* / genetics
  • Humans
  • Inositol
  • Isocitrate Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Mutation
  • Prognosis

Substances

  • Inositol
  • Isocitrate Dehydrogenase
  • Choline