New Protein MRI Contrast Agent Developed for Liver Cancer Imaging

The results of a study published in the May, 13, 2015, online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) reveal the development of a novel, and much more effective Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) contrast agent, named ProCA32.

The researchers from the Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA, USA) and other institutions in Atlanta anticipate that the new protein-based MRI contrast agent and associated imaging methodology could help earlier detection of liver cancer, and other liver diseases. Existing contrast agents and imaging techniques are not sensitive and robust enough to diagnose primary and metastatic liver cancers early enough, and show poor treatment responses, and result in high mortality rates.

ProCA32 shows high stability for Gadolinium (Gd3+) and a 1011-times increased selectivity for Gd3+ over Zinc (Zn2+) compared with existing contrast agents, and can be used to detect early-stage micro-metastatic liver tumors. Using T1- and T2-weighted and T2/T1 ratio robust MRI imaging, the researchers were able to detect early liver metastases ∼0.24 mm in diameter. The current detection size limit is 10–20 mm.

The new contrast agent has additional properties that make it suitable for high-quality imaging, and could be a breakthrough, not only for early detection of primary and metastatic liver cancers, but also for treatment monitoring, and guiding therapeutic interventions, such as drug delivery.

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