Fluctuations in tumor blood perfusion assessed by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Temporal heterogeneity in blood perfusion is a common phenomenon in tumors, but data characterizing the nature of the blood flow fluctuations are sparse. This study investigated the occurrence of blood flow fluctuations in A‐07 melanoma xenografts by using gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd‐DTPA)‐based dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI (DCE‐MRI). Each tumor was subjected to two DCE‐MRI acquisitions separated by 1 hour. The data were processed by Kety analysis and resulted in two E · F images (E is the initial extraction fraction of Gd‐DTPA and F is the perfusion) and two λ images (λ is the partition coefficient of Gd‐DTPA) for each tumor. The E · F images were used to determine the changes in blood perfusion arising in the time between the two imaging sequences. The λ images were used to control the reproducibility of the experimental procedure. The study showed that DCE‐MRI with subsequent Kety analysis is a useful method for detection of blood flow fluctuations in A‐07 tumors, and strongly suggested that the peripheral regions of A‐07 tumors are more exposed to temporal changes in blood perfusion than are the central regions. Magn Reson Med 58:473–481, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.