A feline model for experimental studies of peritumor brain edema

An in vivo model for correlative imaging studies of intracerebral glial tumors and peritumor brain edema has been developed. Adult male and female cats implanted with 1 x 10(6) or 5 x 10(5) 9L glioma cells had parietal tumors of 4 mm or greater in diameter and showed signs of increased intracranial pressure 13.7 +/- 1.9 days or 19.2 +/- 1.3 days after implantation. No immunosuppression was required and the success rate for tumor growth after implantation was 88%. Histologically, the tumor resembles a malignant astrocytoma. The tumor contained the highest water content (85.94%); peritumor white matter was more edematous (73.01%) than white matter in the contralateral hemisphere (69.04%), sham-operated (69.41%) and control brain (68.76%). There was no correlation between the size of the tumor and water content in tumor or white matter. Increased tissue albumin in peritumor white matter indicated blood-brain barrier dysfunction within the tumor and confirmed the vasogenic origin of the edema. Proton magnetic resonance imaging provided good spatial and contrast resolution with increased signal intensity in edematous white matter, decreasing with distance from the tumor. The large brain of this animal model allows the use of serial imaging and regional correlative biochemical measurements in a single animal. Other advantages of this model are its predictability and the short time required to produce tumors with marked peritumor edema.