DCE‐MRI: a review and applications in veterinary oncology

Abstract

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI) is a functional imaging technique that assesses the physiology of tumour tissue by exploiting abnormal tumour microvasculature. Advances made through DCE‐MRI include improvement in the diagnosis of cancer, optimization of treatment choices, assessment of treatment efficacy and non‐invasive identification of prognostic information. DCE‐MRI enables quantitative assessment of tissue vessel density, integrity, and permeability, and this information can be applied to study of angiogenesis, hypoxia and the evaluation of various biomarkers. Reproducibility of DCE‐MRI results is important in determining the significance of observed changes in the parameters. As improvements are made towards the utility of DCE‐MRI and interpreting biologic associations, the technique will be applied more frequently in the study of cancer in animals. Given the importance of tumour perfusion with respect to tumour oxygenation and drug delivery, the use of DCE‐MRI is a convenient and powerful way to gain basic information about a tumour.

Assessment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats Using Quantitative Dynamic Contrast‐Enhanced MRI

“…Dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI (DCE‐MRI) has the advantage of quantitatively assessing the microcirculation perfusion status of tissues . Semiquantitative description of liver perfusion, such as hepatic portal index (HPoI), and more sophisticated descriptions of tissue vascular properties such as K trans (forward volume transfer constant), V e (extravascular extracellular volume fraction), and V p (plasma volume fraction) can be calculated using the appealing model‐based approaches, ie, classic Tofts model, extended Tofts model, or exchange model .…”

“…13,14 Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has the advantage of quantitatively assessing the microcirculation perfusion status of tissues. 15,16 Semiquantitative description of liver perfusion, such as hepatic portal index (HPoI), and more sophisticated descriptions of tissue vascular properties such as K trans (forward volume transfer constant), V e (extravascular extracellular volume fraction), and V p (plasma volume fraction) can be calculated using the appealing modelbased approaches, ie, classic Tofts model, extended Tofts model, or exchange model. 17 Previous DCE-MRI studies have shown that multiple semiquantitative perfusion parameters including arterial blood flow, arterial fraction, and mean transit time could be used to diagnose advanced liver fibrosis and evaluate the severity of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis patients.…”

Imaging in Non-neurologic Oncologic Treatment Planning of the Head and Neck

“…Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has recently been investigated in animals. It can be used for assessment of tumor perfusion in soft tissue sarcomas and brain tumors, and to follow tumor responses after hyperthermia and radiation therapy in animals (126).…”

Imaging in veterinary oncology: Exciting new developments

“…Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears to be better than ultrasound at detecting enlarged abdominal lymph nodes in dogs diagnosed with anal sac adenocarcinoma (Anderson et al, 2013). Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI is a new tool that is currently being explored to detect tumor perfusion in soft tissue sarcomas and brain tumors and to follow responses after hyperthermia and radiation therapy in animals (Boss et al, 2013). Each of these more sophisticated imaging modalities has the potential to improve patient care.…”