A Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Comparison of the Perfusion of Spontaneous & Transplanted Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma in Genetically Engineered Mice

Leanne Bell¹, Davina Honess², Dominick McIntyre², David Tuveson²

This preclinical study uses dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI to investigate the comparative perfusion of spontaneous and transplanted pancreatic tumours in genetically engineered mice. Spontaneous tumours, accurately recapitulating human disease, have substantial desmoplastic stroma while transplanted tumours of the same genomic background have virtually none. The study demonstrates that the Gd-DTPA volume transfer constant falls as both tumour types grow from 100600 mm3, but in spontaneous tumours it is consistently approximately half that measured in transplantable tumours of comparable size. This is consistent with relatively poor drug delivery in tumours with a high stromal content, contributing to their typical drug resistance.