High Resolution X-Ray Microangiography of 4T1 Tumor in Mouse Using Synchrotron Radiation

Angiogenesis is very important in tumor growth and metastasis. But in clinic, only vessels lager than 200 μm in diameter, can be observed using conventional medical imaging. Synchrotron radiation (SR) phase contrast imaging, whose spatial resolution can reach as high as 1 μm, has great advantages in imaging soft tissue structures, such as blood vessels and tumor tissues. In this paper, the morphology of newly formed micro-vessels in the mouse 4T1 tumor samples was firstly studied with contrast agent. Then, the angiogenesis in nude mice tumor window model was observed without contrast agent using the SR phase contrast imaging at the beamline for X-ray imaging and biomedical applications, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). The images of tumors showed dense, irregular and tortuous tumor micro-vessels with the smallest size of 20-30 μm in diameter.