In vivo small animal imaging for early assessment of therapeutic efficacy of photodynamic therapy for prostate cancer

We are developing in vivo small animal imaging techniques that can measure early effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for prostate cancer. PDT is an emerging therapeutic modality that continues to show promise in the treatment of cancer. At our institution, a new second-generation photosensitizing drug, the silicon phthalocyanine Pc 4, has been developed and evaluated at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. In this study, we are developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that provide therapy monitoring and early assessment of tumor response to PDT. We generated human prostate cancer xenografts in athymic nude mice. For the imaging experiments, we used a high-field 9.4-T small animal MR scanner (Bruker Biospec). High-resolution MR images were acquired from the treated and control tumors pre- and post-PDT and 24 hr after PDT. We utilized multi-slice multi-echo (MSME) MR sequences. During imaging acquisitions, the animals were anesthetized with a continuous supply of 2% isoflurane in oxygen and were continuously monitored for respiration and temperature. After imaging experiments, we manually segmented the tumors on each image slice for quantitative image analyses. We computed three-dimensional T2 maps for the tumor regions from the MSME images. We plotted the histograms of the T2 maps for each tumor pre- and post-PDT and 24 hr after PDT. After the imaging and PDT experiments, we dissected the tumor tissues and used the histologic slides to validate the MR images. In this study, six mice with human prostate cancer tumors were imaged and treated at the Case Center for Imaging Research. The T2 values of treated tumors increased by 24 ±14% 24 hr after the therapy. The control tumors did not demonstrate significant changes of the T2 values. Inflammation and necrosis were observed within the treated tumors 24 hour after the treatment. Preliminary results show that Pc 4-PDT is effective for the treatment of human prostate cancer in mice. The small animal MR imaging provides a useful tool to evaluate early tumor response to photodynamic therapy in mice.