German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Multi-modal Imaging of Angiogenesis in a Nude Rat Model of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Volumetric Computed Tomography and Ultrasound

Tobias Bäuerle¹, Dorde Komljenovic¹, Martin R. Berger², Wolfhard Semmler¹

¹Department of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany, ²Unit of Chemotherapy and Toxicology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

In the pathogenesis of bone metastasis, angiogenesis is a crucial process and therefore represents a target for imaging and therapy. Here, we present a rat model of site-specific breast cancer bone metastasis and describe strategies to non-invasively image angiogenesis in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging, volumetric computed tomography and ultrasound.

Cancer Research

Machine Learning Algorithms for Early Detection of Bone Metastases in an Experimental Rat Model

Stephan Ellmann¹, Lisa Seyler¹, Clarissa Gillmann², Vanessa Popp¹, Christoph Treutlein¹, Aline Bozec³, Michael Uder¹, Tobias Bäuerle¹

¹Department of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, ²Department of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, German Cancer Research Center, ³Department of Internal Medicine 3, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

This protocol was designed to train a machine learning algorithm to use a combination of imaging parameters derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in a rat model of breast cancer bone metastases to detect early metastatic disease and predict subsequent progression to macrometastases.