Fig. 18

Use of VEGFR2 targeted microbubbles to assess perfusion and angiogenic target expression within the same ultrasound examination. (a) Schematic presentation of a typical time-intensity curve using targeted microbubbles. The numbers refer to the respective time points of the images shown in (b). (b) The upper row shows US images of untreated experimental breast cancers in the contrast mode, the bottom row tumours treated with anti-VEGF antibodies (B20). The microbubble accumulation in the wash-in phase is clearly reduced in treated tumours, indicating a breakdown of vascular function. Consequently, there is reduced binding of VEGFR2 targeted microbubbles in the treated tumours. Destruction of the microbubbles by US confirms that they were stationary at the target (right images) (image adapted from [168])