Yang Guo1, Ning Jin1,2, Rachel
Klein1, Guang-Yu Yang3, Reed Omary1,2,
Andrew Larson1,2
1Department of Radiology, Northwestern
University, Chicago, IL, United States; 2Department of Biomedical
Engineering , Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; 3Department
of Pathology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
Angiogenesis
is fundamental for tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Non-invasive
methods to monitor tumor neo-vascular changes during tumor progression and/or
in response to anti-angiogenic therapy may be critical. The purpose of our
study was to investigate the relationship between gas-challenge (GC)-BOLD
response and degree of tumor angiogenesis during tumor progression in rodent
hepatoma model. A positive correlation was found between GC-BOLD response and
tumor microvessel density and a negative correlation was between GC-BOLD
response and tumor size. GC-BOLD MRI may offer the potential to serve as a
non-invasive method for evaluating angiogenesis and monitoring
anti-angiogenic therapy response in hepatic tumors.