Quantitative assessment of small intraosseous prostate cancer burden in SCID mice using fluorescence imaging.
BACKGROUND
Experimental bone metastases are typically analyzed when the skeletal tumor burden is large enough to be detected by imaging or histology. By this time, the bone microenvironment is usually destroyed, preventing useful analysis of tumor-bone interactions.


METHODS
Small intraosseous tumors generated by intratibial injection of C4-2B prostate cancer cells transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) were assessed using in vivo and ex vivo fluorescence imaging, radiography, histology, and fluorometric analysis of bone lysates.


RESULTS
Ex vivo fluorescence imaging and fluorometric analysis were capable of detecting tiny bone tumors as early as 10 days after injection. Ex vivo fluorescence imaging allowed simple quantification of small skeletal tumor burden and was useful in measuring the effect of systemic therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Ex vivo fluorescence imaging is a sensitive and easy method to quantify small skeletal tumor burden. This technique allows investigation of tumor-bone interactions while the bone microanatomy is still intact.
Yamamoto
Hamilto
H
Department of Urology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
Bonfil
R Daniel
RD
Wiesner
Christoph
C
Nabha
Sanaa
S
Dong
Zhong
Z
Meng
Hong
H
Saliganan
Allen
A
Sabbota
Aaron
A
Chinni
Sreenivasa R
SR
Cher
Michael L
ML
D000818:Animals; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards