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Ultrasound for the Visualization and Quantification of Tumor Microcirculation

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Abstract

Advances in ultrasound based methods for the non-invasive assessment of the tumor microcirculation are described. Two new ultrasound approaches are highlighted. The first method relies on commercially available ultrasound contrast agents in combination with specialized nonlinear imaging sequences. Nonlinear scattering by microbubble contrast agents provides a unique intravascular signature that can be distinguished from the echoes caused by surrouning tissues. Through destruction-reperfusion experiments it is possible to use microbubble contrast agents as a tracer revealing the kinetics of tumor blood flow. The second ultrasound method for examining the microcirculation involves the use of much higher frequencies. At frequencies on the order of 50 MHz, Doppler processing allows the direct assessment of flow dynamics in realtime in arterioles as small as 15 µm. Three dimensional Doppler maps of flow patterning are presented. The strengths and weaknesses of these new methods are discussed and the potential for their use in preclinical animal drug studies, clinical drug trials, and prognostic studies is described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre and The University of Toronto, Canada

    F. Stuart Foster, Peter N. Burns, David H. Simpson, Donald A. Christopher & David E. Goertz

  2. Department of Medical Imaging, The University of Toronto, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Stephanie R. Wilson

Authors
  1. F. Stuart Foster
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  2. Peter N. Burns
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  3. David H. Simpson
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  4. Stephanie R. Wilson
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  5. Donald A. Christopher
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  6. David E. Goertz
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Stuart Foster, F., Burns, P.N., Simpson, D.H. et al. Ultrasound for the Visualization and Quantification of Tumor Microcirculation. Cancer Metastasis Rev 19, 131–138 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026541510549

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026541510549

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