A Novel Application of Magnetisation Transfer MRI for the Detection of Tumour Stromal Reaction in Spontaneous and Transplanted Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma in Mice.

Leanne Katherine Bell¹, Davina Honess¹, Dominick McIntyre¹, David Tuveson², John Griffiths¹

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal disease with minimally effective treatments available. The genetically engineered KPC mouse develops spontaneous PDA in situ, recapitulating the genetic, molecular and pathological aspects of the human disease, including its dense desmoplastic tumour stroma. In contrast, transplanted mouse PDA has minimal stroma. Comparing these tumour types shows that Magnetisation Transfer MRI, specifically Magnetisation Transfer Ratio (MTR), can distinguish between differing stromal contents. We conclude that MTR is an effective in vivo biomarker for assessing macromolecular content and preliminary data suggest it may be valuable in assessing tumour stromal changes in a therapeutic setting.