Repeatability of quantitative MRI protocol of hypoxia, cellularity, and perfusion for habitat imaging in a murine glioma model

Motivation: Hypoxia in heterogeneous tumors raises radiotherapy resistance, worsening patient outcomes. A reliable, quantifiable MRI protocol could help address this challenge. Goal(s): We would like to develop a quantifiable and repeatable MRI protocol to measure cellularity, perfusion, and hypoxia to capture tumor heterogeneity in preclinical glioma models. Approach: Animals with brain tumors underwent test-retest MRI sessions, after which the MRI data was combined to define subregions with distinct physiological characteristics. Results: The repeatability values are within the values previously reported for murine studies of cancer. Our image-derived quantification of hypoxia, cellularity, and perfusion can capture tumor heterogeneity at the ROI level. Impact: We have presented updated findings on the repeatability of our quantitative and multiparametric MRI protocol for identifying tumor habitats. Our image-derived quantification of hypoxia, cellularity, and perfusion can capture tumor heterogeneity at the ROI level.