Monitoring Treatment Response to an Anti-Angiogenic Therapy in Experimental Breast Cancer Bone Metastases Using DWI, DCE-MRI and VSI

Maximilian Merz¹, Dorde Komljenovic¹, Wolfhard Semmler¹, Tobias Buerle¹

Imaging treatment response of bone metastases is pivotal for clinical practice. The most recent version of the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) recommends measuring the osteolytic bone lesion by CT and the respective soft tissue tumor by MRI. However, changes in morphology and lesion size are usually observed months after the initiation of treatment. In our study we report that non-invasive imaging of tumor cellularity by DWI as well as tumor vasculature by DCE-MRI and VSI serves as an early quantifiable biomarker for the assessment of treatment response to an anti-angiogenic therapy in experimental breast cancer bone metastases.