MRI Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about MRI, including details on magnetic resonance imaging, neuroimaging, brain tumors.

Early in vivo assessment of angiostatic therapy efficacy by molecular MRI.

Mulder WJ, van der Schaft DW, Hautvast PA, Strijkers GJ, Koning GA, Storm G, Mayo KH, Griffioen AW, Nicolay K

Biomedical NMR, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands. w.j.m.mulder@tue.nl

Noninvasive diagnostic imaging methods to establish the efficacy of angiostatic therapies are becoming increasingly important with the first Food and Drug Administration approvals of such agents. Magnetic resonance molecular imaging is an imaging technique that allows the visualization of pathological processes in vivo with a better spatial resolution as compared with nuclear methods, such as photon emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography. In this study, we used alpha(v)beta3 targeted bimodal liposomes to quantitate angiogenesis in a tumor mouse model with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the angiogenesis inhibitors anginex and endostatin. The MRI findings were validated with fluorescence microscopy and showed a very good correlation with the microvessel density. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that molecular MRI can be used to noninvasively measure the efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors during the course of therapy.

Published 1 February 2007 in FASEB J, 21(2): 378-83.
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