Peter Johnson1, Simon Walker-Samuel2,
Vineeth Rajkumar3, Mathew Robson3, Mark F. Lythgoe*2,
Barbara Pedley*3
1Institute of Cancer,
University College London, London, United Kingdom; 2UCL Centre for
Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Medicine & Institute of Child
Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 3Institute
of Cancer, University College London, United Kingdom
Orthotopic tumour xenograft models, in which tumour cells are implanted and developed in the organ from which they were derived, have found increasing interest as it is thought that they provide a more representative model of tumour pathophysiology and tumour-stromal interaction. However, it is notoriously difficult ro evaluate therapeutic efficacy without sacrificing the host. In this study, the response to treatment with OXi4503, a vascular disrupting agent, is compared in subcutaneous and orthotopic liver tumour models using susceptibility and diffusion MRI. Marked differences in the rate and magnitude of response between the two models are identified and quantified.