Xue-Ming Wu1, Rongzuo Xu1, Eun-Kee Jeong2, James N. Lee3, Zheng-Rong Lu1
1Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 2Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, ,Utah, USA; 3Center for Advanced Medical Technologies, Radiology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
This study evaluated the efficacy of biodegradable macromolecular contrast agent, Gd-DTPA cystamine copolymer (GDCC), for quantitative assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of an antiangiogenic agent Avastin in an animal tumor model. Tumor vascular parameters were estimated from DCE-MRI data of GDCC and a low molecular weight control agent before and after the treatment. The vascular parameters estimated from DCE-MRI with GDCC correlated well to tumor grow, while the parameters from Gd(DTPA-BMA) could not correlate tumor growth. The biodegradable macromolecular contrast agent has a potential for monitoring therapeutic efficacy of anti-angiogenic therapeutics.