A development of early stage diagnosis for lymph node metastasis based on lymphangiography

Abstract

Lymph node metastasis is regarded as the leading cause of cancer death, hence the development of early diagnosis system is essential for improving prognosis. In the previous research, it was reported that high lymph vessel density in lymph node may be a significant unfavorable prognostic factor. Furthermore, lymphatic metastasis has been show to cause a change in the lymphatic channel density. Therefor in this study, we analyzed contrast micro-CT imaging of lymphatic channel in the metastatic lymph node of an animal model for lymph node metastasis by delivering contrast agent via lymphatics. MXH10/Mo-lpr/lpr mice whose lymph nodes were enlarged to 10 mm in diameter was used as animal model. The results show that lymphangiography using micro-CT has a potential as a new research assessment of lymph node metastasis.