Uncovering the spread of deadly cancer: Scientists see tumour cells travelling in the brain
FOR THE FIRST time, scientists can see pathways to stop deadly brain cancer in its tracks. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have imaged individual cancer cells and the routes they travel as the tumour spreads. The researchers used a novel
cryo-imaging technique to obtain the unprecedented look at a mouse model of glioblastoma multiforme, a particularly aggressive cancer that has no treatments to stop it from spreading. “We’re able to see things we
couldn’t before, and we can use these images to understand how tumour cells invade and disperse,” said Susann M. Brady-Kalnay, a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and senior author of the paper. That information, in turn, can be used
to help develop and test the effectiveness of drugs and other therapies used to treat the cancer, she said. To obtain the view, the scientists used
a model that included four different cell lines of brain cancers at various stages of tumour development and dispersion. The cancer cells were modified with fluorescent markers and implanted in the model’s brain. The cryo-imaging system disassembles the brain layer by layer and reassembles the model into a colour three-dimensional digital image. Using software and algorithms
designed by the researchers, they are able
to differentiate the main tumour mass, the blood vessels that feed the cancer and dispersing cells. The imaging system enables them to peer at single cells and see exactly where they are in the brain. The lead researchers, found that
two cell lines, a human brain cancer LN229, and a rodent cancer CNS-1, best resemble the actions of glioblastoma multiforme in human patients. Reconstructions of models of those two lines enabled the researchers to analyze the extent and patterns of cancer cell migration and dispersal from tumours along blood vessels and white matter tracts within the brain. The ability to produce such clear and detailed images, the researchers say, will be invaluable when evaluating the potency of drugs and other therapies designed to block dispersal of glioblastoma multiforme cells. ■ Source: ScienceDaily
ID Flash CT speeds diagnosis with less radiation
ADENOSINE STRESS 128-slice dual source computed tomography perfusion imaging (CTP) with a high pitch factor appears to provide faster, more accurate heart scans for both viewing blood vessels in the heart and measuring blood supply to the heart muscle - while exposing patients to less radiation, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. In preliminary tests from a small trial
of 39 patients with an average age of 64, 'Flash' CT, captured quicker images of the entire heart, allowing doctors to better see artery blockages and reduced blood flow through the heart. The scans, which were augmented by a contrast agent and vasodialator, involved just one-tenth of the radiation of current CT scans, the standard test for diagnosing and pinpointing the location of heart disease.
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The new technology captures images of the entire heart in less than 0.3 seconds, compared to six seconds for conventional CT scans. The new technology answers two questions with one scan: Whether the blood vessels of the heart are narrowed and whether there is reduced blood flow. This should open the door for better clinical
efficiency and cost savings. For accuracy, the new scan was
compared to cardiac MRI images as well as invasive angiograms. Compared to cardiac MRI, 78-95% of the time the new CT correctly identified restricted blood flow; Flash CT correctly ruled it out 84-94% of the time. Compared to invasive angiography,
the new CT had 90% accuracy in detecting significant blockages. The new CT’s accuracy improved to 95% when added to CT perfusion. The scan proved particularly useful in patients with advanced heart disease or diabetic patients who reported no symptoms, but were found to have areas of poor coronary blood flow. Larger studies are needed before
the new technology is widely used, researchers said. ■
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