Figure 6. In vivo ultrasound molecular imaging.
(A) Representative transverse B-mode and contrast mode ultrasound images following injection of B7-H3-targeted contrast microbubbles show strong signal in breast cancer and only background signal in a mammary gland with normal breast tissue (both outlined by a green region of interest). (B) Photomicrographs of immunofluorescence images (double stained for both the vascular marker CD31 (red) and B7-H3 (green)) confirm expression of B7-H3 on tumor neovasculature (arrows, yellow signal on merged images) in breast cancer with little to no vascular expression in normal tissue. Note B7-H3 is also expressed on tumor epithelium (arrowheads; green). (C) Bar graph summarizes quantitative B7-H3-targeted ultrasound molecular imaging signal obtained in normal and breast cancer in a total of 183 mammary glands with significantly increased imaging signal in breast cancer versus normal tissue. *P<0.001; error bars = standard deviations. (D) Receiving operator characteristic (ROC) curve in distinguishing normal from breast cancer based on quantitative ultrasound molecular imaging signal.