Evaluation of contrast-enhanced color doppler ultrasound for the quantification of angiogenesis in vivo

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. To evaluate contrast-enhanced color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) aimed at quantifying angiogenesis in vivo. METHODS. Eight colon tumors xenografted into mice were studied with CDUS both without and after injection of SHU 508A. The number of intratumor vessels and pedicles visualized with CDUS and the value of the acoustic intensity quantified by computer were compared with the evaluation of angiogenesis by study of digitized histological slides. RESULTS. SHU 508A increased the number of intratumor vessels and pedicles depicted by CDUS, which could also be quantified by acoustic intensity. The comparison of CDUS and digitized histological slide studies showed that the detection threshold after SHU 508A administration allowed visualization of small vessels (40 μm in diameter). The "hot spots" seen on histology were superimposable onto vessels seen with CDUS. Regions in which no vessels were detected by CDUS corresponded to regions in which vascularization was absent by histological analysis. CONCLUSION. Injection of SHU 508A significantly increased vessel detection with CDUS.