title: Grating-based phase-contrast imaging of tumor angiogenesis in lung metastases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the feasibility of the grating-based phase-contrast imaging (GPI) technique for studying tumor angiogenesis in nude BALB/c mice, without contrast agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We established lung metastatic models of human gastric cancer by injecting the moderately differentiated SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell line into the tail vein of nude mice. Samples were embedded in a 10% formalin suspension and dried before imaging. Grating-based X-ray phase-contrast images were obtained at the BL13W beamline of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) and compared with histological sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Without contrast agents, grating-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging still differentiated angiogenesis within metastatic tumors with high spatial resolution. Vessels, down to tens of microns, showed gray values that were distinctive from those of the surrounding tumors, which made them easily identifiable. The vessels depicted in the imaging study were similar to those identified on histopathology, both in size and shape.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our preliminary study demonstrates that grating-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging has the potential to depict angiogenesis in lung metastases.
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Huimin
authors: H
authors: Lin
authors: Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China.
authors: Binquan
authors: B
authors: Kou
authors: Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China.
authors: Xiangting
authors: X
authors: Li
authors: Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yujie
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Bei
authors: B
authors: Ding
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Chen
authors: C
authors: Shi
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Huanhuan
authors: H
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Rongbiao
authors: R
authors: Tang
authors: School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors: Jianqi
authors: J
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Fuhua
authors: F
authors: Yan
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
authors: Huan
authors: H
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007368:Interferometry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000556:secondary*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D017356:Synchrotrons; D014054:Tomography