Imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, single-photon emission tomography, optical imaging, and others can be applied to investigations of animal models of cancer of the central nervous system (CNS) to gain critical insights into disease status in a noninvasive fashion. Scaled-down versions of clinical neuroimaging systems offer animal research
... [Show full abstract] investigators the full arsenal of diagnostic imaging capabilities that are available in the clinic as well as the capabilities of experimental imaging modalities that are not yet approved for human applications. The use of noninvasive imaging technologies in animal research enables study designs that track disease status in individual animals over time; these longitudinal data complement traditional histological endpoint analyses and often reduce the number of animals required to make precision observations. This chapter briefly discusses some current applications of neuroimaging techniques to animal investigations of CNS cancer with the goal of arming the reader with examples of how these imaging technologies may be leveraged in research activities. The growing use of neuroimaging in preclinical animal research not only encourages the translation of data acquired from preclinical studies to observations made in the clinic, but also validates important advances in diagnostic imaging science.