title: Anatomical specificity of vascular endothelial growth factor expression in glioblastomas: a voxel-based mapping analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a common genetic alteration in malignant gliomas and contributes to the angiogenesis of tumors. This study aimed to investigate the anatomical specificity of VEGF expression levels in glioblastomas using voxel-based neuroimaging analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical information, MR scans, and immunohistochemistry stains of 209 patients with glioblastomas were reviewed. All tumor lesions were segmented manually and subsequently registered to standard brain space. Voxel-based regression analysis was performed to correlate the brain regions of tumor involvement with the level of VEGF expression. Brain regions identified as significantly associated with high or low VEGF expression were preserved following permutation correction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High VEGF expression was detected in 123 (58.9 %) of the 209 patients. Voxel-based statistical analysis demonstrated that high VEGF expression was more likely in tumors located in the left frontal lobe and the right caudate and low VEGF expression was more likely in tumors that occurred in the posterior region of the right lateral ventricle.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Voxel-based neuroimaging analysis revealed the anatomic specificity of VEGF expression in glioblastoma, which may further our understanding of genetic heterogeneity during tumor origination. This finding provides primary theoretical support for potential future application of customized antiangiogenic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China.|Department of Neuropathology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yinyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China. lys5@sina.com.
authors.forename: Shaowu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China. taojiang1964@163.com.|Department of Clinical Oncology, Beijing Academy of Critical Illness in Brain, Beijing, People's Republic of China. taojiang1964@163.com.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Anatomical specificity; Glioblastoma; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Voxel-based mapping