ABSTRACT
Tumors, like other tissues, require oxygen and nutrient delivery to sustain high rates of growth and development. še demand for oxygen and nutrients is met by increased perfusion, which we deœne as the tissue mass-normalized rate of blood delivery to an organ or tumor via its capillary network. še high perfusion requirement makes angiogenesis a critical event in the growth of a tumor; angiogenesis, in turn, is the logical target of many forms of anticancer therapy. šese considerations, along with the spatially heterogeneous patterns of blood §ow that are characteristic of tumors, indicate that using tomographic imaging to quantify tumor blood §ow could help signiœcantly in tumor characterization or in determining a tumor’s responsiveness to therapy.
