Complementarity of shear wave elastography and dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound to discriminate tumor modifications during antiangiogenic and cytotoxic therapy

Robust, novel information on tumor microenvironment would improve therapeutic follow-up in oncology. Shear wave elastography (SWE) evaluates Young´s modulus (stiffness) based on shear wave velocity. Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) traces microvascular flow with intravascular microbubbles. In this study, an ectopic tumor model was modified using two different types of drugs a cytotoxic (cyclophosphamide) and an anti-angiogenic (sunitinib). Both DCE-US and SWE imaging were sensitive to functional, physiological and mechanical modifications of the tumor and provided complementarity information to describe these modifications.