Advanced MRI: translation from animal to human in brain tumor research

Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion MRI, and perfusion MRI, allow for a diverse range of multidimensional information regarding brain tumor physiology to be obtained in addition to the traditional anatomic images. Although it is well documented that MRI of rodent brain tumor models plays an important role in the basic research and drug discovery process of new brain tumor therapies, the role that animal models have played in translating these methodologies is rarely discussed in such articles. Even in consensus reports outlining the pathway to validation of these techniques, the use of animal models is given scant regard. This is despite that the use of rodent cancer models to test advanced MRI techniques predates and was integral to the development of clinical MRI. This article highlights just how integral preclinical imaging is to the discovery, development, and validation of advanced MRI techniques for imaging brain neoplasms.