Cancer is a top leading cause of deaths worldwide, among which pancreatic cancer and liver cancer are top leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Despite recent developments in cancer treatment, pancreatic and liver cancers still have a high mortality and low life expectancy, especially when diagnosed at advanced stages. Earlier cancer diagnosis and prognosis of response to treatment can allow adjustment of cancer treatment regiment and hence improvements in mortality and expectancy. MRI is a versatile imaging modality that is used clinically in cancer diagnosis, staging, and treatment prognosis. Various modes of MRI can visualize many properties of tumors, including gross anatomy, microstructure, functional changes, and metabolic states. Examining tissue propertities beyond tumor diameter may allow detection of response to treatment prior to reductions in tumor size or growth rate. In this project, we examined 2 clinically-used types of MRI – diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) and perfusion MRI (DCE-MRI and TRIP-MRI) – for early prediction of response to treatment. We showed that DW-MRI can determine changes in tumor cellularity and tumor apoptosis as a response to dendritic cell vaccination immunotherapy prior to gross changes in tumor growth in a mouse model of primary pancreatic cancer. DW-MRI can also detect differences between the zone of complete cell death (IRE zone) and zone of incomplete cell death (RE zone) after irreversible electroporation(IRE) in a rabbit model of primary liver cancer, but cannot visualize distinct margins between treatment zone. Perfusion MRI techniques, and particularly quantitative measurements made using TRIP-MRI, can distinguish between untreated tissues, IRE zone, and RE zone, as well as visualize margins between IRE zone and RE zone. This will allow estimation of whether sufficient tumor margins may be covered by irreversible electroporation and whether addition treatment is needed after IRE. TRIP-MRI may not only allow early prediction of response, but peri-operative adjustment of treatment in IRE treatment of liver cancer. This project thus showed that quantitative measurements using clinically-used MRI techniques may allow early prediction of response in cancer treatment.  

Creator

• Shangguan, Anna

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-6z0w-g003

Subject

• Medical imaging

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16078
• etdadmin_upload_902858

Keyword

• cancer imaging
• MRI
• DWI
• pancreatic cancer
• liver cancer

Date created

• 2022-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright