Three-dimensional OCT imaging of ovarian cancer outgrowth in mouse and spheroid models

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer, with a low survival rate linked to the spread of cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity. Unique in its spread, ovarian cancer develops outgrowths that bud from the tumor surface and eventually detach, disseminating within the peritoneal cavity. Understanding this process is essential for designing new strategies to manage the spread of ovarian cancer and improve the survival rate. The ovarian cancer outgrowth appears as a multicellular spheroid with a size of tens to hundreds of microns, which requires high-resolution imaging for analysis. However, current studies primarily rely on 2D microscopy, lacking the 3D information to understand its morphogenesis and to quantitatively assess the dynamics of its formation. Here, we present our work in establishing optical coherence tomography for 3D imaging of the ovarian cancer outgrowth in both the transgenic mouse model in vivo and the spheroid model in culture.