Functional magnetic resonance imaging in an animal model of pancreatic cancer

摘要

AIM: To test the hypotheses that diffusion weighed (DW)and transcatheter intraarterial perfusion (TRIP)magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can each be used to assess regional differences in tumor function in an animal pancreatic cancer model.METHODS: VX2 tumors were implanted in pancreata of 6 rabbits. MRI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were performed 3 wk following implantation. With a 2-French catheter secured in the rabbit's gastroduodenal artery, each rabbit was transferred to an adjacent 1.5T MRI scanner. DWand TRIP-MRI were performed to determine if necrotic tumor core could be differentiated from viable tumor periphery. For each, we compared mean differences between tumor core/ periphery using a 2-tailed paired t-test (α = 0.05). Imaging was correlated with histopathology. RESULTS: Tumors were successfully grown in all rabbits, confirmed by necropsy. On DW-MRI, mean apparent diffusion coeffi cient (ADC) value was higher in necrotic tumor core (2.1 ± 0.3 mm2/s) than in viable tumor periphery (1.4 ± 0.5 mm2/s) (P < 0.05). On TRIP-MRI, mean perfusion values was higher in tumor periphery (110 ± 47 relative units) than in tumor core (66 ± 31 relative units) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Functional MRI can be used to differentiate necrotic from viable tumor cells in an animal pancreatic cancer model using ADC (DW-MRI) and perfusion (TRIP-MRI) values.