Background and objective: The goal of this study was to use an inexpensive macroscopic imaging system to monitor tumor progression in mouse models in real-time with minimal intervention.
Study design/materials and methods: Illumination is provided via a xenon arc lamp and a fiber optic probe which delivers white light or quasi-monochromatic excitation via specific bandpass filters. Fluorescence emission from SCID and nude mice following mammary fat pad injection of red fluorescence protein (RFP)-expressing human breast cancer cell lines was recorded and quantified using a single lens reflex (SLR) digital camera.
Results: This simple system enabled the verification of successful tumor take and temporal quantification of tumor progression in mouse models.
Conclusion: The macroscopic fluorescence imaging system represents an inexpensive and portable tool to facilitate non-invasive in situ cancer detection with the potential to monitor fluorescent tumor formation and investigation of the efficacy of potential cancer therapeutics.
(c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.