Efficacy and Safety of MRI and CT Guided VX2 Hepatic Para-vascular Tumor Model in Rabbits

To compare the efficacy and safety of 1.5 T MRI and CT-guided VX2 hepatic para-vascular tumor model in rabbits.

Sixty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly and equally divided into MRI-guided group (n=30) and CT-guided group (n=30). Rabbit VX2 tumor fragments were implanted beside the rabbit hepatic great vessels under MRI and CT guidance in the MRI and CT group to evaluate the success rate of tumor model establishment, puncture needle display and tip peripheral vascular situation, operation time and safety.

In the MRI-guided group, 29 rabbits (29/30, 96.7%) had a successful establishment of liver tumor model, and 1 rabbit had needle metastasis. In the CT-guided group, 24 rabbits (24/30, 80%) had a successful establishment of liver tumor model, while 2 rabbits had needle metastasis, 3 rabbits had metastases in other parts of the liver, and 1 had an unknown cause of death. The differences in tumor model establishment success rate between the two groups were statistically significant (χ² = 4.043, P < 0.05). The fold number of artifacts at T1WI was 7.26±0.38 for the 20 G coaxial puncture needle in the MRI-guided group and 2.51±0.57 for the 20 G coaxial puncture needle in the CT-guided group, and the difference was statistically significant (t=36.76, P < 0.001), but star-shaped hypodense artifacts would appear around the needle tip. The operation time was longer in the MRI-guided group than in the CT-guided group (13.32±2.45 minutes in the MRI-guided group vs. 8.42±1.46 minutes in the CTguided group; t=9.252, P < 0.001). A small number of ascites occurred in 2 patients (2/30, 6.67%) in the CT-guided group; no serious complications such as liver abscess, jaundice or diaphragmatic perforation were observed in both groups.

Compared with CT, MRI-guided hepatic para-vascular tumor implantation in rabbits might be a more effective modeling method. Although the needle tip pseudopacity of the puncture needle is large and the operation time is long, the incidence of complications is low.