Abstract #0051

Gatenby R, Moore S, Gmitro A

MRI is used routinely to study anatomic, physiologic, and functional aspects of tumor growth and tumor microenvironments. Intravital optical microscopic imaging of implanted window chambers is another approach that provides a method for direct high resolution imaging of tumors and the tumor-host interface. A key issue in both MRI and optical studies of biological properties is validation of methods. Cross validation of one technique (e.g. MRI) by another (e.g. intravital microscopy) could provide such an assessment. Here we report on the first in vivo experiments to demonstrate the dual imaging modalities of MRI and intravital optical microscopy.