Functional imaging in tumor-associated lymphatics

The lymphatic system plays an important role in cancer cell dissemination; however whether lymphatic drainage pathways and function change during tumor progression and metastasis remains to be elucidated. In this report, we employed a non-invasive, dynamic near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging technique for functional lymphatic imaging. Indocyanine green (ICG) was intradermally injected into tumor-free mice and mice bearing C6/LacZ rat glioma tumors in the tail or hindlimb. Our imaging data showed abnormal lymphatic drainage pathways and reduction/loss of lymphatic contractile function in mice with lymph node (LN) metastasis, indicating that cancer metastasis to the draining LNs is accompanied by transient changes of the lymphatic architectural network and its function. Therefore, functional lymphatic imaging may provide a role in the clinical staging of cancer.