Abstract #0961

Simultaneous pH- and oxygen-weighted metabolic MRI of human gliomas at 3T using multi-echo amine proton chemical exchange saturation transfer spin-and-gradient-echo echoplanar imaging (CEST-SAGE-EPI)

Benjamin M Ellingson¹, Jingwen Yao¹, Ararat Chakhoyan¹, Phioanh L Nghiemphu², Albert Lai², Whitney B Pope¹, Linda Liau³, and Timothy F Cloughesy²

¹Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ³Neurosurgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Glycolysis is enhanced in cancers, even in the presence of abundant oxygen, leading to accumulation of lactic acid. We present a technique for fast pH- and oxygen-weighted MR imaging using multi-echo amine proton chemical exchange saturation transfer echo spin-and-gradient echoplanar imaging (CEST-SAGE-EPI) on a clinical 3T MRI system. In phantom and human experiments, we investigate the ability to simultaneously measure MTRasym at 3ppm, a measure dependent on pH, and R2’, which is sensitive to oxygen extraction. Results suggest T2 hyperintense tumor is acidic, but not hypoxic; whereas contrast enhancing tumor is acidic and hypoxic, consistent with known cancer biology.

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