Different tumors respond differently to radiation and chemotherapy. There’s a lot of evidence that solid tumors that are poorly oxygenated don’t respond well to these therapies. So having a way to assess tumors for tissue oxygenation can help mitigate and avoid therapies that are dangerous to the rest of the body.
At University of Cambridge researchers have now employed photoacoustic imaging, also known as optoacoustic imaging, to identify the concentration of oxygen within targeted tumor tissue. The technology works by directing short bursts of a light beam into tissue. On each burst the tissue heats up slightly, expanding a tiny bit, and thereby sending a mechanical wave through the surrounding tissue. These waves can be detected using an ultrasound transducer and that allows for imaging of tissues at resolutions that ultrasound can’t achieve.
The team performed their experiments on mice with prostate tumors. The animals were given a breath worth of pure oxygen to inhale and optoacoustic imaging used to image their tumors. The regions that had poor oxygenation looked different from those in which the vascular structure lent itself to efficient oxygen transport, which was confirmed using more invasive methods.
Here are the Cambridge research discussing and showing off their work:
Open access study in journal Theranostics: Oxygen Enhanced Optoacoustic Tomography (OE-OT) Reveals Vascular Dynamics in Murine Models of Prostate Cancer…
Via: Cancer Research UK…