Microscopic Morphology of Brain and Bone Metastases in a Rat Breast Cancer Model by Diffusion MRI

Matthew D. Budde¹, Molly Resnick¹, Eric Gold¹, E Kay Jordan¹, Joseph A. Frank¹

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measured with diffusion MRI has shown promise as an early marker of therapeutic response in malignant gliomas. However, metastatic tumors are the primary cause of intracranial tumors, and it is unknown whether brain metastases exhibit similar diffusion characteristics as the preclinical implanted brain tumor model. A rat model of metastatic breast cancer was used to examine the diffusion properties of brain and bone metastases. The results demonstrate that ADC is sensitive to the microscopic growth patterns of brain and bone metastases that result from their differing microenvironments.