Preliminary results of a non-invasive method to measure tumor size and distribution in vivo

Molecular imaging of reporter gene expression in cancer cells can provide rapid, sensitive and non-invasive monitoring of tumor behavior. The aim of the present study was to establish a non-invasive method to measure tumor size and distribution in vivo. Briefly, H-Ras-transformed cells were stably transfected with a plasmid containing the luciferase gene (Luc), designated as Ras/Luc. Ras/Luc cells were injected into the back or tail vein of nude BALB/cAnN-Foxn1nu/CrlNarl mice (age, 6–8 weeks). Mice were subsequently administered D-luciferin via intra-peritoneal injection, prior to image acquisition. Photons emitted from the mice were detected via an imaging system. Tumor size and distribution in vivo were quantified as photons/second. Andrographolide has demonstrated radiosensitization in previous in vitro and in vivo studies. In the present study, the potential effects of andrographolide cancer metastasis were investigated further, using an imaging system. Preliminary results of andrographolide combined with radiation indicated the inhibition of cancer metastasis. The present mechanistic study of andrographolide-mediated effects demonstrated that activated extracellular signal regulated kinase protein and H(2)O(2) production levels were significantly increased by andrographolide. In summary, the present study established a non-invasive method to measure tumor size and distribution in vivo and indicated that andrographolide may be a potential therapeutic strategy in cancer therapy.