Techniques: MRI of in vivo nanoparticle distribution to predict efficacy of nanoparticle-based cancer therapies

The anemia therapy Feraheme ferumoxytol could be useful as an MRI agent to predict responses to nanoparticle-based cancer therapies. In vivo fluorescent imaging of multiple mouse tumor models injected with fluorescently labeled Feraheme and a polymeric nanoparticle showed the two types of particles co-localized in tumor vasculature and in tumor-infiltrating macrophages. In a xenograft mouse model of fibrosarcoma, MRI showed the signal from Feraheme in untreated mice was associated with response to subsequent treatment of the mice with paclitaxel-loaded nanoparticles. Next steps include testing whether MRI detection of magnetic particles predicts the efficacy of nanotherapies in cancer patients. (See "Oh, The Places You'll Go", page 14)...