Correlation between 18F-fluoromisonidazole PET and expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in newly diagnosed and recurrent malignant gliomas

Purpose Hypoxia and its consequences at the molecular level promote tumour progression and affect patient prognosis. One of the main early cellular events evoked by hypoxia is induction of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) and subsequent upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In this study we sought to determine whether hypoxia detected by 18F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET accurately reflects the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the tumour and can be used as a biomarker of antiangiogenic treatment and as a prognostic factor in newly diagnosed and recurrent malignant gliomas.