Blood Vessel Architecture in a Breast Tumor

Submitted by Alex Bagley of the Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies at the Koch Institute

Alex Bagley, Sangeeta Bhatia
Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies, Koch Institute
Optical Frequency Domain Imaging

"This image was taken in a live subject, and depicts blood vessel architecture in a sample of human breast cancer grown in an animal host (called a xenograft).  We were quantitatively comparing differences in tumor microvascular architecture as a function of tumor type and site of implantation. Here, we discovered that breast xenografts display a more complex and extensive vascular network than ovarian tumor nodules in the peritoneal cavity."