A new paper entitled “Early Radiation Therapy Response Assessment Using Multi-Scale Photoacoustic Imaging” has been published in Advanced Science, with dr Monika Golińska from our Department among the co-authors.

The study investigated radiation therapy response in preclinical breast cancer models using multi-scale photoacoustic imaging (PAI). Two xenograft models (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) were exposed to either hypofractionated radiotherapy (5×5 Gy) or a single ablative dose (20 Gy), with imaging performed 24 h before treatment, 24 h after its initiation, and at endpoint.

Key findings show that pre-treatment PAI parameters — particularly intratumoral haemoglobin content and oxygen diffusion capacity under a breathing gas challenge — were predictive of radiation therapy response. Importantly, photoacoustic imaging detected vascular changes as early as 24 h after irradiation, before any measurable reduction in tumor volume. Ablative single-dose radiation induced early pruning of looping vessels and reduced blood volume in the radiosensitive model, while hypofractionation led to increased intratumoral oxygenation at endpoint, reflecting reoxygenation between fractions.

The publication highlights the potential of PAI as a non-invasive tool for profiling tumor radiosensitivity, monitoring early treatment response, and enabling personalized radiotherapy through biology-guided dose planning. The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, and the University of Oxford.