Terahertz Imaging of ENU Injected Sprague Dawley Rat Breast Cancer Tumors

Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate the use of the reflection mode terahertz imaging technique for the margin assessment of breast cancer tumors developed in Sprague Dawley rats. The tumors in the rats were produced by injecting N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea chemical into their mammary pad. The pathology assessment results demonstrated the presence of fibro-fatty tissue adjacent to cancer in the excised tumor. THz imaging results show significant differentiation between these tissue types. Thus, the proposed rat breast tumor model demonstrated a potential to obtain cancerous tissues closely mimicking human breast tumors.