Date of Award

2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Medical Biophysics

Supervisor

Paula J. Foster, Ph.D.

Abstract

Brain metastasis due to breast cancer is a devastating complication that effects many people every year and its prognosis is dismal, fewer than 20% of patients reach the one year survival period after initial diagnosis. Herein we report the temporal and spatial monitoring of the development of experimental brain metastasis in mice. The metastatic potential of two highly brain metastatic breast cancer cell lines was investigated in vivo at multiple time points. This involved comparing distribution patterns, growth rates and tumor volumes between the two cell lines. We also labeled cells with MPIO contrast agents and tracked the distribution of cells on day 1 in the brain using MRI, the finding was correlated to the corresponding distribution of metastases at the endpoint. This model gives new insight into the nature of breast cancer metastasis to the brain and is a piece to the puzzle for solving this complex disease.

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