Validation of DEXA for longitudinal quantification of tumor burden in a murine model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Noninvasive imaging is central to preclinical, in vivo models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). While bioluminescent imaging (BLI) is a gold standard, its signal is dependent on the metabolic activity of tumor cells.

In contrast, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is a direct measure of body composition. Thus, this project aimed to assess the potential of using DEXA for longitudinal quantification of tumor burden versus BLI in an orthotopic KCKO murine model of PDAC. In short, DEXA successfully identified a growing tumor burden and accurately predicts ex vivo tumor mass in a time sensitive manner.

Learning objectives

• Learn to take advantage of DEXA for things other than bone density and bone health (i.e., lean, and fat mass)
• Understand that DEXA can reproducibly and accurately be used to monitor tumor burden and growth in orthotopic murine models of pancreatic cancer
• Understand the importance of repurposing techniques and equipment for new analysis
• Understand that non-invasive in vivo imaging is crucially important in severely compromised models like those for PDAC and other cancers
• See the value of utilizing multiple techniques throughout an experiment to enhance data collection