Journal
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
Volume 45, Issue 5, Pages 1284-1296Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.12.010
Keywords
Ultrafast Doppler tomography; Angiogenesis; 3-D vascular imaging; Tumor development
Funding
- European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant [339244-FUSIMAGINE]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Angiogenesis, the formation of new vessels, is one of the key mechanisms in tumor development and an appealing target for therapy. Non-invasive, high-resolution, high-sensitivity, quantitative 3-D imaging techniques are required to correctly depict tumor heterogeneous vasculature over time. Ultrafast Doppler was recently introduced and provides an unprecedented combination of resolution, penetration depth and sensitivity without requiring any contrast agents. The technique was further extended to three dimensions with ultrafast Doppler tomography (UFD-T). In this work, UFD-T was applied to the monitoring of tumor angiogenesis in vivo, providing structural and functional information at different stages of development. UFD-T volume renderings revealed that our murine model's vasculature stems from pre-existing vessels and sprouts to perfuse the whole volume as the tumor grows until a critical size is reached. Then, as the network becomes insufficient, the tumor core is no longer irrigated because the vasculature is concentrated mainly in the periphery. In addition to spatial distribution and growth patterns, UFD-T allowed a quantitative analysis of vessel size and length, revealing that the diameter distribution of vessels remained relatively constant throughout tumor growth. The network is dominated by small vessels at all stages of tumor development, with more than 74% of the vessels less than 200 mu m in diameter. This study also found that cumulative vessel length is more closely related to tumor radius than volume, indicating that the vascularization becomes insufficient when a critical mass is reached. UFD-T was also compared with dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound and found to provide complementary information regarding the link between structure and perfusion. In conclusion, UFD-T is capable of in vivo quantitative assessment of the development of tumor vasculature (vessels with blood speed >1 mm/s [sensitivity limit] assessed with a resolution limit of 80 mu m) in 3 dimensions. The technique has very interesting potential as a tool for treatment monitoring, response assessment and treatment planning for optimal drug efficiency. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available