Evidence for Characteristic Vascular Patterns in Solid Tumors: 
Quantitative Studies Using Corrosion Casts
 

 
 
 

Moritz A. Konerding1, Wolf Malkusch2, Brigitte Klapthor1, Claudia van Ackern1, Sally A. Hill3, Charles Parkins3, Dai J. Chaplin3, Marco Presta4, and Juliana Denekamp5
 

1Department of Anatomy, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Becherweg 13, D-55099 Mainz, Germany; 
2 Carl Zeiss Vision GmbH,  D-85386 Eching, Germany;
3Gray Laboratory Cancer Research Trust,  Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2JR, England; 
4Department of Biochemical Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Medicine, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; 
5Oncology Department, Umeå University , S-901-85 Umeå, Sweden


 

 


casting of tumor vasculature
 
 
 


Back to: Presta's lab

 

 ABSTRACT

The vascular architecture of four different tumor cell lines (CaX, CaNT, SaS, HEC-1B) transplanted subcutaneously in mice was examined by means of microvascular corrosion casting in order to determine whether there is a characteristic vascular pattern for different tumor types and whether it differs significantly from two normal tissues, muscle and gut. 

3D reconstructed scanning electron microscope images were used for quantitative measurements. Vessel diameters, inter-vessel and inter-branch distances showed large differences between tumor types, whereas the branching angles were similar. 

In all tumors, the variability of the vessel diameters was significantly higher than in normal tissue. The quantitative data provide strong evidence for a characteristic vascular network determined by the tumor cells themselves.



 Br J Cancer 1999 May;80:724-32
 

Back to: AIRC - Special Project Angiogenesis