Noninvasive Investigation of the Viscoelastic Properties of Intracranial Tumours with Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Yann Jamin¹, Jessica K.R. Boult¹, Jin Li¹, Craig Cummings¹, Jeffrey C. Bamber¹, Ralph Sinkus², Simon P. Robinson¹

Increased tissue rigidity is associated with a more invasive tumour phenotype. Non-invasive imaging biomarkers of mechanical properties of tumours can improve the diagnosis and staging of malignancies, and facilitate and accelerate the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. Innovative techniques such as magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) afford non-invasive biomarkers of the mechanical or visco-elastic properties of tissue in vivo. The visco-elastic properties of U87, RG2 and MDA-MB-231 tumours propagated intracranially in mouse brain were quantified using MRE, and interestingly revealed that all three tumours were softer than residual brain.