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Review
. 2019 Feb 1;11(2):170.
doi: 10.3390/cancers11020170.

Integrating Small Animal Irradiators withFunctional Imaging for Advanced Preclinical Radiotherapy Research

Mihaela Ghita  1 , Kathryn H Brown  2 , Olivia J Kelada  3   4 , Edward E Graves  5 , Karl T Butterworth  6
Affiliations
Review

Integrating Small Animal Irradiators withFunctional Imaging for Advanced Preclinical Radiotherapy Research

Mihaela Ghita et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Translational research aims to provide direct support for advancing novel treatment approaches in oncology towards improving patient outcomes. Preclinical studies have a central role in this process and the ability to accurately model biological and physical aspects of the clinical scenario in radiation oncology is critical to translational success. The use of small animal irradiators with disease relevant mouse models and advanced in vivo imaging approaches offers unique possibilities to interrogate the radiotherapy response of tumors and normal tissues with high potential to translate to improvements in clinical outcomes. The present review highlights the current technology and applications of small animal irradiators, and explores how these can be combined with molecular and functional imaging in advanced preclinical radiotherapy research.

Keywords: functional imaging; preclinical radiotherapy; radiation oncology; radiobiology; small animal irradiators.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram demonstrating the evolution of conventional radiobiology to image-guided preclinical radiotherapy and molecular imaging. These changes are a major refinement of conventional techniques and have resulted in improved precision and accuracy. Overall, these advanced approaches have reduced study sizes in radiobiology studies required to obtain statistical power by reducing dose uncertainty, error and allowing longitudinal analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schema of different preclinical imaging techniques showing increasing molecular specificity and spatial resolution for in vitro and in vivo studies. BLI, bioluminescence imaging; PET, positron-emission tomography; CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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