Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2012 Feb 20;31(1):15. doi: 10.1186/1756-9966-31-15.
SPC-c-Raf-1-BxB transgenic mice develop genetically induced disseminated lung adenocarcinoma allowing examination of carcinogenesis and evaluation of novel treatment strategies. We report on assessment of lung tumour growth kinetics using a semiautomated region growing segmentation algorithm.
156 non contrast-enhanced respiratory gated micro-CT of the lungs were obtained in 12 SPC-raf transgenic (n = 9) and normal (n = 3) mice at different time points. Region-growing segmentation of the aerated lung areas was obtained as an inverse surrogate for tumour burden. Time course of segmentation volumes was assessed to demonstrate the potential of the method for follow-up studies.
Micro-CT allowed assessment of tumour growth kinetics and semiautomated region growing enabled quantitative analysis. Significant changes of the segmented lung volumes over time could be shown (p = 0.009). Significant group differences could be detected between transgenic and normal animals for time points 8 to 13 months (p = 0.043), when marked tumour progression occurred.
The presented region-growing segmentation algorithm allows in-vivo quantification of multifocal lung adenocarcinoma in SPC-raf transgenic mice. This enables the assessment of tumour load and progress for the study of carcinogenesis and the evaluation of novel treatment strategies.
SPC-c-Raf-1-BxB 转基因小鼠发生基因诱导的肺部腺癌细胞扩散，可用于研究癌变并评估新的治疗策略。我们报告了使用半自动区域生长分割算法评估肺部肿瘤生长动力学的情况。
在不同时间点，对 12 只 SPC-raf 转基因（n = 9）和正常（n = 3）小鼠的 156 个未增强呼吸门控微 CT 进行了成像。通过充气肺区的区域生长分割获得肿瘤负荷的反替代物。评估分割体积的时间过程，以证明该方法用于随访研究的潜力。
微 CT 允许评估肿瘤生长动力学，半自动区域生长使定量分析成为可能。随着时间的推移，分割肺体积发生显著变化（p = 0.009）。在转基因和正常动物之间，在 8 至 13 个月的时间点（p = 0.043）可以检测到明显的肿瘤进展，从而检测到显著的组间差异。
所提出的区域生长分割算法允许对 SPC-raf 转基因小鼠的多灶性肺腺癌进行体内定量评估。这使评估肿瘤负荷和进展成为可能，有助于研究癌变和评估新的治疗策略。
