Projects

Approaches to imaging malignant micro-calcifications in human breast cancer

MRI. Since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal arises from protons, water-poor structures, such as bone and tissue calcification, are essentially invisible. Tissue calcification is an important biomarker for human disease, with microcalcifications being of paramount importance for the detection of breast cancer. However, MRI, now the standard of care for screening high-risk women for breast cancer, is unable to detect such calcifications. In this study, we developed a gadolinium-based, MR-compatible contrast agent specific for hydroxyapatite, the calcium salt most commonly associated with malignant calcification. To enable detection in such water-poor environments, we also employed a novel ultra-short echo time (UTE) pulse sequence, and characterized sensitivity and specificity in vitro and in vivo. Finally, in a syngeneic rat model of breast cancer microcalcification, as shown in Figure 2, we demonstrated contrast-enhanced detection of hydroxyapatite by UTE MRI. Taken together, this study enables a variety of medical and non-medical applications for imaging water-poor objects.