Tumour angiogenesis and its relation to contrast enhancement on computed tomography: a review

Angiogenesis describes the formation of new blood vessels within tumours. T he process is essential for tumour growth and metastasis. The development o f new vessels leads to physiological changes, specifically increased perfus ion, blood volume and capillary permeability, that alter contrast enhanceme nt during computed tomography (CT). Functional CT techniques that quantify these physiological changes can provide greater insight into how angiogenes is alters contrast enhancement in routine practice and also serve as diagno stic tools in their own right. The functional information obtained can aid with tissue characterisation, such as type or grade of tumour, improve the detection of hepatic metastases, produce clearer delineation of tumours wit h benefits for radiotherapy planning and biopsy, and provide prognostic inf ormation. By providing a marker for tumour angiogenesis, quantitative contr ast enhanced CT can improve the diagnostic assessment of patients with canc er. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.