April 20, 2016

A potential tool to differentiate between malignant tumours and benign tissue in MRI

Hello! My name is Yonathan Araya and I’m a PhD candidate in the Department of Medical Biophysics at Western University. I work in the Imaging Research Laboratories at Robarts Research Institute under the supervision Dr. Timothy Scholl.

One of the disadvantages of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the lack of specificity and sensitivity to distinguish between malignant tumours and benign tissue, and the different stages of tumour progression. One way to address this shortcoming is targeted magnetic resonance contrast-agent approaches, whereby a contrast agent binds to specific proteins or receptors.

I’ve been imaging the specific magnetic field dependence of tissues and quantifying their intrinsic magnetic resonance properties using our fast field-cycling magnet. This work is ongoing at the University Hospital 1.5 Tesla MRI suite. The application of a fast field-cycling MRI allows us to observe the targeted contrast agent when it binds to the protein/receptor, suppressing the untargeted agent and background tissue. This is a potential tool to differentiate between normal and cancerous breast tissues.

Our preliminary findings have shown an inherent weak magnetic field dependence of healthy tissues. This is important as we study atypical or cancerous tissues, which may have a significantly greater magnetic field dependence and may be highlighted by a targeted contrast agent.

Thank you for your trainee support!
– Yonathan Araya, PhD candidate
Pamela Greenaway-Kohlmeier Translational Breast Cancer Research Unit, London Health Sciences Centre

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