Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Caritas Hospital St. Josef, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2012;52(2-4):93-106. doi: 10.3233/CH-2012-1587.
In this study we investigated the sensitivity of high resolution ultrasound (HRU) in the detection of small liver tumors and its microcirculation in a humanized tumor mouse model (HTM). These mice develop a complete human immune system and human breast cancer growth in the liver which allows the investigation of antibody based immunotherapies under human like conditions.
HTM were generated by the co-transplantation of human breast cancer cells and human hematopoietic stem cells. HRU, Doppler sonography (CCDS), contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and color-coded elastography were performed on all HTM and confirmed by histopathological assessment.
Using HRU and CEUS, noncystic solid liver lesions between 2 and 11 mm (mean 3.5 mm) size were detectable in HTM. Granulomatous areas were identified by B-scan imaging, showing areas of higher stiffness in elastography and areas without contrast media uptake in the late phase (CEUS). In addition, CEUS detected capillary microcirculation of benign and malignant liver lesions smaller than 10 mm.
Beyond human breast cancer HTM additionally developed small parenchymal liver lesions, which could be characterized by HRU in combination with CEUS and elastography in-vivo. Nevertheless, the defined diagnoses of solid liver lesions less than 5 mm require confirmation by histopathology.
本研究旨在探讨高分辨率超声（HRU）在检测人源化肿瘤小鼠模型（HTM）中微小肝脏肿瘤及其微循环中的敏感性。这些小鼠体内可形成完整的人类免疫系统，且在肝脏中生长人类乳腺癌，从而可以在类似人体的条件下研究基于抗体的免疫疗法。
通过共移植人乳腺癌细胞和人造血干细胞来生成 HTM。对所有 HTM 进行 HRU、多普勒超声（CCDS）、对比增强超声（CEUS）和彩色编码弹性成像检查，并通过组织病理学评估进行确认。
使用 HRU 和 CEUS，可在 HTM 中检测到 2 至 11 毫米（平均 3.5 毫米）大小的非囊性实性肝脏病变。B 型扫描成像可识别出肉芽肿区域，在弹性成像中显示出较高硬度区域，在 CEUS 的晚期阶段无对比剂摄取区域。此外，CEUS 还可检测到直径小于 10 毫米的良性和恶性肝脏病变的毛细血管微循环。
除了人乳腺癌之外，HTM 还可发展出较小的实质性肝脏病变，可通过 HRU 结合 CEUS 和弹性成像进行体内特征描述。然而，直径小于 5 毫米的实性肝脏病变的明确诊断仍需要组织病理学确认。
