Perfusion imaging of colorectal liver metastases treated with bevacizumab and stereotactic body radiotherapy

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and bevacizumab are used in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases. This study prospectively evaluated changes in perfusion of liver metastases in seven patients treated with both bevacizumab and SBRT. Functional imaging using dynamic contrast-enhanced CT perfusion and contrast-enhanced ultrasound were performed at baseline, after bevacizumab, and after SBRT. After bevacizumab, a significant decrease was found in permeability (-28%, p<.05) and blood volume (-47%, p<.05), while SBRT led to a significant reduction in permeability (-22%, p<.05) and blood flow (-37%, p<.05). This study demonstrates that changes in perfusion can be detected after bevacizumab and SBRT.