‘Significant Advance’ In Detecting Small, Early-Stage Tumors On MRIs
by Marla Milling
Detecting tumors as early as possible is obviously a goal in the fight against cancer. A new study released May 25 in Nature Nanotechnology shows progress in finding even the smallest early-stage tumors.
Researchers at the University of California at Davis have developed a new technique involving chemical probes that produce a signal on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to target and image tumors.
There’s a phenomenon called magnetic resonance tuning that takes place between two nanoscale magnetic elements. One enhances the signal and the other quenches it.
The UC-Davis team devised a probe that generates two magnetic resonance signals that suppress each other until they reach the target. Then both signals increase contrast between a tumor and normal, surrounding tissue.
They refer to this as two-way magnetic resonance tuning (TMRET).
When they paired their technique with specially developed imaging analysis software, the researchers where able to pick out brain tumors in a mouse with greatly increased sensitivity.
Study authors say this advance opens the door to “new possibilities for noninvasive and sensitive investigation of a variety of biological processes by MRI.”
Senior author Yuanpei Li, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center calls this a “significant advance,” but he says much work must be done before the work can be translated into clinical use.
He says they will need to do toxicology testing and scaling up production before they could apply for investigational new drug approval.