This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Muanza, T. M. Articles by Mitchell, J. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Muanza, T. M. Articles by Mitchell, J. B.

Evaluation of Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis by Optical Coherence Tomography

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Radiation Oncology Branch, ² Radiation Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute; ³ Gene Therapy and Therapeutic Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland; ⁴ McGill University Health Center, ⁵ Biomedical Imaging Research Services Section, CIT, NIH, and ⁶ Imalux Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio

Requests for reprints: James B. Mitchell, Radiation Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Room B3-B69, Building 10, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: 301-496-7511; Fax: 301-480-2238; E-mail: jbm{at}helix.nih.gov.

Purpose: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging was evaluated to determine if radiation-induced mucosal damage could be noninvasively monitored in real time and correlated with histopathologic findings.

Experimental Design: Female C3H mice, ages 7 to 9 weeks, four per group, were immobilized in a custom-made Lucite jig and received 0, 15, 22.5, and 25 Gy in a single fraction to their oral cavity. OCT images were acquired of proximal, middle, and distal aspects of the dorsum of the tongue on days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 post-irradiation. Animals were sacrificed on day 7 and samples taken for histologic evaluation. OCT images were visually examined and also quantified by image analysis and compared with histologic findings.

Results: Tongues removed 7 days post-irradiation showed no visible damage; however, upon staining with toluidine blue, ulcers at the base of the tongue became visible (100% for 25 Gy, 75% after 22.5 Gy, and 0% after 15 Gy). Visual inspection of OCT images qualitatively compared with histologic findings and quantitative image analysis of the OCT images (effective light penetration depth) revealed significant changes 7 days post-irradiation compared with unirradiated controls for the base of the tongue.

Conclusions: OCT allows for direct noninvasive real-time acquisition of digitally archivable images of oral mucosa and can detect radiation-induced changes in the mucosa before visual manifestation. OCT may be a useful technique to quantify subclinical radiation-induced mucosal injury in experimental chemoradiation clinical trials.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Zhao, K.-A. Kim, J. De Vera, S. Palencia, M. Wagle, and A. Abo R-Spondin1 protects mice from chemotherapy or radiation-induced oral mucositis through the canonical Wnt/{beta}-catenin pathway PNAS, February 17, 2009; 106(7): 2331 - 2336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]