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Abstract #1640

A Hydroxyapatite-Targeted Gadolinium Contrast Agent for MRI of Breast Cancer Microcalcifications

Jonathan Marmurek1, Elaine Lunsford2, Elena Vinogradov2, 3, Khaled Nasr2, Fangbing Liu2, Ananth J. Madhuranthakam4, John V. Frangioni2, 5, Robert E. Lenkinski3

1Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; 2Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; 3UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; 4Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Boston, MA; 5Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Clinical x-ray mammography cannot delineate hydroxyapatite (HA) and calcium oxalate (CO), the respective forms of microcalcification in malignant and benign breast cancer. We present the first in-vivo MRI of an HA-targeted gadolinium contrast agent. Pre- and post-contrast MRI using ultra-short echo times (UTE) showed that the contrast agent had a 4.3-fold relative specificity for HA over CO when delivered systemically to subcutaneous crystal implants in mice. UTE MRI of a breast cancer model in rats showed that the HA-targeted contrast agent produced a signal intensity enhancement greater than 200% in tumor calcifications.

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