Marie-France Penet1,
Kristine Glunde1, Dmitri Artemov1,
1JHU ICMIC
Program, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology & Radiological
Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA;
2Department of Cell Biology & Neurosciences, Section of
Molecular & Cellular Imaging, Istituto Superiore di Sanit, Rome, Italy
Epithelial ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy among women in developed countries. New therapeutic strategies evaluated with relevant preclinical models are urgently needed to improve survival rates. Here we have characterized orthotopically implanted ovarian tumors with in vivo MRI and MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), with the ultimate purpose of determining the effects of choline kinase targeting on tumor growth, metastasis occurrence, and ascites formation. Total choline and phosphocholine were significantly higher in orthotopic compared to subcutaneous tumors, demonstrating the importance of the inoculation site in the metabolic phenotype.