This study investigated the feasibility of hyperpolarized 13C (h13C) MRI as diagnostic tool to monitor hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) activity. h13C MRI showed significant increase in pyruvate-lactate conversion and decrease in pyruvate-alanine in N1S1 HCC tumors following stimulation from nearby hepatic radiofrequency ablation, while no such changes were seen with the MCA-RH7777 HCC tumors, despite increased tumor burden or proliferation in both cell lines. The h13C measurements matched mRNA expression patterns of glycolysis-related genes, which were relatively lower for MCA-RH7777. h13C pyruvate MRI may provide insight into malignant tumor behavior but is contingent on the activity of key glycolytic regulators.
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