Changes in High Spectral & Spatial Resolution MR Images of Tumor Tissue Due to Locally Induced Hyperthermia

Sean Foxley¹, Xiaobing Fan¹, Jonathan River¹, Marta Zamora¹, Erica Markiewicz¹, Shunmugavelu Sokka², Gregory S. Karczmar¹

This pilot study investigates physiological effects of locally induced hyperthermia in a rodent tumor model using high spectral and spatial resolution MRI. Approximately 6 C increases were produced in tumor tissue using fiber optic guided light from a halogen lamp. Time dependent changes in water resonance peak width were measured during 15 minutes of localized tumor heating. Hyperthermically induced quantitative differences between tumor tissue and normal muscle were measured. Results suggest that response to hyperthermia measured by MRI could be used diagnostically to identify and/or characterize suspicious lesions and guide development of new hyperthermia protocols.