Abstract #0568

Towards Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancers by CA 19-9 Conjugated Magnetic Nanoparticles and Active Feedback MRI

Zhao Li¹, Chaohsiung Hsu², Chih-Wei Lai¹, Matthew Rochefort³, Yu-Hao Chen², James S. Tomlinson³, Lian-Pin Hwang², Vay Liang W. Go⁴, Yung-Ya Lin¹

¹Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ²Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; ³Surgical Oncology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ⁴UCLA Center for Excellence in Pancreatic Diseases, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Early detection of pancreatic cancers using enhanced MRI techniques increases not only the treatment options available, but also the patients survival rate. This can be achieved with antibody-conjugated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles capable of binding to early stage pancreatic cancer cells to improve imaging specificity and innovation methods that can sensitively detect SPIO to improve imaging sensitivity. The enhanced contrast from SPIO can then be used to visually assess the distribution and magnitude of SPIO-targeted tumor cells. In vivo subcutaneous and orthotopic xenografts mouse models validated the superior contrast/sensitivity and robustness of this approach towards early pancreatic cancers detection.