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The distribution of blood flow in a given tumor regulates the exchange and uptake of relevant molecules in chemo-, immuno-, and radiation therapy, thereby determining the efficacy of present day cancer treatments. Because it plays a significant role in heat transfer, the distribution of blood flow is also important in both thermographic detection and hyperthermia treatment [1, 2]. But what determines the distribution of blood flow in a microvascular network? In both normal and pathologic tissues, blood flow through a vascular bed is determined by several factors including the vascular network topology and the dimensions of the blood vessels. Previous workers have made qualitative comparisons of host and tumor vasculature including both animal tumors (for review see [3]) as well as human tumor xenotransplants [4]. To date, however, there exists no quantitative data describing the microvascular network architecture of any tumor type. If such data can be obtained, then a network model capable of predicting the blood pressure and flow distribution in a given tumor can be constructed, thus allowing insight into growth rate variability among tumors and the mechanisms governing current cancer therapies. Below is a brief presentation of the results of such a quantitative analysis of the vascular network topology in a mammary adenocarcinoma from Less et al. [5]. |
