Yanping Sun1,
Matthew C. Dunn1, Saadallah Ramadan2, Kristen L. Jones1,
Adam Green3, Keith Ligon4, Andrew L. Kung1,
5
1Lurie
Family Imaging Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA, United States; 2School of Health Sciences, University
of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; 3Pediatric Oncology, Dana
Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; 4Medical
Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,
United States; 5Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation,
Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
There is an unmet need for improved therapies for brain tumors. Drug development for brain tumors requires a clinically faithful animal model. We developed an orthotopic primary xenograft tumor model and used bioluminescence imaging to monitor tumor growth and MRI/ MRS to evaluate the tumor metabolic profile. Tumors had significantly higher T1, T2 and diffusion values. MRS showed significant reduction of NAA and GABA, and significant elevation of Cho, Myo, and Glx in tumor compared to normal brain. These features recapitulate the findings in human patients with glioblastoma multiforme, demonstrating the clinical relevance of primary xenografts for modelling human disease.