Three-Dimensional H-Scan Ultrasound Imaging of Early Breast Cancer Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy in a Murine Model

Objectives Three-dimensional (3D) H-scan is a new ultrasound (US) technique that images the relative size of acoustic scatterers. The goal of this research was to evaluate use of 3D H-scan US imaging for monitoring early breast cancer response to neoadjuvant therapy using a preclinical murine model of breast cancer. Materials and Methods Preclinical studies were conducted using luciferase-positive breast cancer–bearing mice (n = 40). Anesthetized animals underwent US imaging at baseline before administration with an apoptosis-inducing drug or a saline control. Image data were acquired using a US scanner equipped with a volumetric transducer following either a shorter- or longer-term protocol. The later included bioluminescent imaging to quantify tumor cell viability. At termination, tumors were excised for ex vivo analysis. Results In vivo results showed that 3D H-scan US imaging is considerably more sensitive to tumor changes after apoptosis-inducing drug therapy as compared with traditional B-scan US. Although there was no difference at baseline (P> 0.99), H-scan US results from treated tumors exhibited progressive decreases in image intensity (up to 62.2% by day 3) that had a significant linear correlation with cancer cell nuclear size (R2> 0.51, P
Source: Investigative Radiology - Category: Radiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research