Recent application of advanced MR imaging to predict pseudoprogression in high-grade glioma patients

Abstract

Pseudoprogression is regarded as a subacute form of treatment-related change with a reported incidence of 20–30%, occurring predominantly within the first three months after the completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Occurrence of progressive lesions on conventional contrast-enhanced MR imaging may also accompany clinical deterioration, posing considerable diagnostic challenges to clinicians and radiologists. False interpretation of treatment-related change as true progression may lead to the cessation of effective first-line therapy (i.e., adjuvant temozolomide) and unnecessary surgery. Increasing awareness of the diagnostic challenge of the phenomenon has underscored the need for better imaging techniques that may aid in differentiating the treatment-related change from true progression. In this review, we discuss the recent applications of advanced MR imaging such as diffusion-weighted and perfusion-weighted imaging in the evaluation of treatment response in high-grade glioma patients and highlight their potential role in differentiating pseudoprogression from true progression.