title: In vivo Magnetic Resonance Metabolic and Morphofunctional Fingerprints in Experimental Models of Human Ovarian Cancer.
abstract: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the gynecological malignancy with the highest death rate, characterized by frequent relapse and onset of drug resistance. Disease diagnosis and therapeutic follow-up could benefit from application of molecular imaging approaches, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), able to monitor metabolic and functional alterations and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we overview the quantitative alterations that occur during either orthotopic or subcutaneous growth of preclinical EOC models. A common feature of (1)H MR spectra is the presence of a prominent peak due to total choline-containing metabolites (tCho), together with other metabolic alterations and MRI-detected morphofunctional patterns specific for different phenotypes. The tCho signal, already present at early stages of tumor growth, and changes of diffusion-weighted MRI parameters could serve as markers of malignancy and/or tumor response to therapy. The identification by MRS and MRI of biochemical and physiopathological fingerprints of EOC disease in preclinical models can represent a basis for further developments of non-invasive MR approaches in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Canese
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Delia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mezzanzanica
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagnoli
authors.affiliation: Immunology and Molecular Oncology Unit, IOV - Istituto Oncologico Veneto - I.R.C.C.S , Padova , Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Indraccolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canevari
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Podo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Egidio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iorio
keywords: ADC; DWI; MRI; animal model; epithelial ovarian cancer; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; target therapy