Abstract C4: Specific targeting of spontaneous medulloblastoma tumors in mice by IRDye 800CW chlorotoxin.

Studies of primary brain tumors such as medulloblastoma are hampered by the nature of the cancer and the location of these tumors. Improving our ability to detect and assess intracranial tumor growth would significantly advance diagnosis and inform recommendations by clinicians for subsequent therapy and treatment. Use of molecular imaging with targeted near infrared optical imaging agents has been successfully implemented in the visualization, characterization and measurement of biological processes including cancer. Our studies seek to define the use of IRDye 800CW chlorotoxin (CLTX) as a targeted imaging agent for brain tumors in a spontaneous mouse model of medulloblastoma, ND2:SmoA1. Early detection of tumors was accomplished by MRI followed by IRDye 800CW CLTX administration. Blood-brain-barrier integrity was examined by Evan9s Blue testing prior to sacrifice. Additional information was obtained with brain imaging and tissue section analysis of HE 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C4.