Soletti RC, de Britto MAP, Borges HL, Machado JC. Detection of Mice Colorectal Tumors by Endoluminal Ultrasound Biomicroscopic Images and Quantification of Image Augmented Gray Values Following Injection of VEGFR-2 Targeted Contrast Agent.
Acad Radiol 2021;
28:808-816. [PMID:
32067837 DOI:
10.1016/j.acra.2020.01.013]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES
Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) is a noninvasive imaging technique that can be applied in detecting colonic tumors and, once associated with an ultrasound contrast agent (UCA), can identify the molecular expression of cancer-related biomarkers, such as the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2). The present work aimed to detect colonic tumors and quantify augmented gray values of endoluminal UBM (eUBM) images from colonic tumors following the injection of VEGFR-2 targeted UCA (VEGFR2-UCA) into a mouse model of colorectal cancer.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A 40 MHz miniprobe catheter inserted through the biopsy channel of a pediatric flexible bronchofiberscope was used to obtain colonoscopic and B-mode eUBM images simultaneously. Seventeen tumor-bearing mice had their colons inspected and six of them were subjected to a VEGFR2-UCA injection to predict VEGFR-2 expression.
RESULTS
All animals developed distal colon tumors and eUBM was able to detect all of them and also to characterize the tumors, with 71.4% being in situ lesions and 28.6% being tumors invading the mucosa + muscularis mucosae + submucosa layers, as confirmed by histopathology. After VEGFR2-UCA injection, gray values from the eUBM tumoral images increased significantly (p < 0.01). Tumor sites with increased eUBM image gray values corresponded to areas with increased VEGFR-2 expression, as confirmed by immunohistochemistry.
CONCLUSION
The results confirm eUBM as a powerful noninvasive and real-time tool for detecting colon tumor and its invasiveness and once associated with VEGFR2-UCA may become a tool for the detection of VEGFR-2 expression in colonic tumors.
Collapse