Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
Multianimal Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Tumor Measurements in Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Models
Published on: February 3, 2026
Multiple-animal MR imaging using a 3T clinical scanner and multi-channel coil for volumetric analysis in a mouse
Minoru Mitsuda1, Masayuki Yamaguchi, Toshihiro Furuta
1Functional Imaging Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
Purpose:
Multiple small-animal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to measure tumor volume may increase the throughput of preclinical cancer research assessing tumor response to novel therapies. We used a clinical scanner and multi-channel coil to evaluate the usefulness of this imaging to assess experimental tumor volume in mice.
Methods:
We performed a phantom study to assess 2-dimensional (2D) geometric distortion using 9-cm spherical and 32-cell (8×4 one-cm(2) grids) phantoms using a 3-tesla clinical MR scanner and dedicated multi-channel coil composed of 16 5-cm circular coils. Employing the multi-channel coil, we simultaneously scanned 6 or 8 mice bearing sarcoma 180 tumors. We estimated tumor volume from the sum of the product of tumor area and slice thickness on 2D spin-echo images (repetition time/echo time, 3500/16 ms; in-plane resolution, 0.195×0.195×1 mm(3)). After MR acquisition, we excised and weighed tumors, calculated reference tumor volumes from actual tumor weight assuming a density of 1.05 g/cm(3), and assessed the correlation between the estimated and reference volumes using Pearson's test.
Results:
Two-dimensional geometric distortion was acceptable below 5% in the 9-cm spherical phantom and in every cell in the 32-cell phantom. We scanned up to 8 mice simultaneously using the multi-channel coil and found 11 tumors larger than 0.1 g in 12 mice. Tumor volumes were 1.04±0.73 estimated by MR imaging and 1.04±0.80 cm(3) by reference volume (average±standard deviation) and highly correlated (correlation coefficient, 0.995; P<0.01, Pearson's test).
Conclusion:
Use of multiple small-animal MR imaging employing a clinical scanner and multi-channel coil enabled accurate assessment of experimental tumor volume in a large number of mice and may facilitate high throughput monitoring of tumor response to therapy in preclinical research.
Insights
High-throughput preclinical cancer research is advanced by simultaneous small-animal MRI. This method accurately measures experimental tumor volumes in mice, aiding novel therapy assessment.
Area of Science:
- Preclinical cancer research
- Medical imaging
- Tumorigenesis
Background:
- Assessing tumor response to novel therapies in preclinical research requires high throughput.
- Small-animal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a potential method to increase throughput for tumor volume measurement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the usefulness of simultaneous small-animal MR imaging using a clinical scanner and a multi-channel coil for assessing experimental tumor volume in mice.
- To determine if this method can increase throughput in preclinical cancer research.
Main Methods:
- A phantom study was conducted to assess 2D geometric distortion using spherical and multi-cell phantoms on a 3-tesla clinical MR scanner with a 16-coil multi-channel coil.
- Simultaneous MR imaging of 6-8 mice bearing sarcoma 180 tumors was performed.
- Tumor volumes were estimated from 2D spin-echo images and compared to reference volumes derived from excised tumor weights.
Main Results:
- Two-dimensional geometric distortion was found to be acceptable (<5%) in phantom studies.
- Simultaneous scanning of up to 8 mice was achieved.
- MR imaging-estimated tumor volumes showed a high correlation (r=0.995, P<0.01) with reference volumes, with an average volume of 1.04 cm³ for both methods.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous small-animal MR imaging using a clinical scanner and multi-channel coil enables accurate assessment of experimental tumor volume in mice.
- This approach facilitates high-throughput monitoring of tumor response to therapy in preclinical research.
