Longitudinal assessment of lung cancer progression in the mouse using in vivo micro‐CT imaging

Abstract

In conclusion, micro-CT imaging provides a unique platform for in vivo longitudinal assessment of pulmonary lung cancer progression and potentially tracking of therapies at very high resolutions. The ability to evaluate the same subject over time provides for a sensitive assay that can be carried out on a smaller sample size. When integrated with image processing and analysis routines as detailed in this study, the data acquired from micro-CT imaging can now provide a very powerful assessment of pulmonary disease outcomes.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced micro-CT on mice with mammary carcinoma for the assessment of antiangiogenic therapy response

“…Micro-CT imaging has been used to study the structure and disorder in bones [9][10][11][12][13][14], microvasculature anatomy [15,16], oncology models [17][18][19], drug or radiation delivery [20][21][22] and pulmonary diseases such as asthma and emphysema [23][24][25][26][27] in small animals. Dynamic micro-CT examinations were not possible in general in the past.…”

Individual nodule tracking in micro-CT images of a mouse model of lung cancer

“…Growth of individual nodules have been tracked manually using interactive commercial software for both lung registration and nodule segmentation. Furthermore, nodule growth has only been studied up to a limited extent in models provoked by low urethane dosage [4] or studied over short-term period [3].…”

“…In one such model, lung lesions are induced by intraperitoneal injection of urethane in male A/J mice. Nodule progression in this model has been assessed longitudinally [3,4]. Growth of individual nodules have been tracked manually using interactive commercial software for both lung registration and nodule segmentation.…”

Animal models of extracranial pediatric solid tumors

“…It provides a platform for cancer assessment at high resolution, and is proven to be powerful, particularly in tracking pulmonary lesions. The addition of longitudinal assessment studies has helped to overcome the limitation of single time-point imaging (35).…”