Figure 3

Associations of in vivo MR RE and ex vivo histological and mass spectrometry quantification of elastin in the tumor regions. (A) Correlation of in vivo RE and ex vivo quantification of the elastin stain area on cryosections. The RE of elastin probe measurements significantly correlates (R = 0.84, P < 0.001) with the histopathological expression of elastic fibers (elastin stain) in the three tumor regions. (B) Linear regression shows a significant correlation between the elastin stain and the ICP-MS gadolinium concentration (µmol/l) of the whole tumor (R = 0.59; P < 0.05). (C) Linear regression shows a significant correlation of the RE and gadolinium concentration (µmol/l) (R = 0.73; P < 0.01). This indicates a close association between the amount of in vivo binding of the elastin-specific molecular probe and the overall gadolinium detected in tissue. R36 (Version 1.2.5001, R-Development-Core-Team, 2019) was used to create the graphics.