Abstract #1093

Feasibility of BOLD Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Lung Tumors at 3T

Qing Yuan¹, Yao Ding¹, Rami R. Hallac¹, Paul T. Weatherall¹, Robert Doug Sims¹, Thomas Boike², Robert Timmerman², Ralph P. Mason¹

¹Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States; ²Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States

It is expected that BOLD MRI should be sensitive to tumor vascular oxygenation. In lung tumors BOLD MRI is challenging due to potential image artifacts from motion, blood flow, and susceptibility. The goal of this preliminary study was to optimize the BOLD imaging technique at 3T in patients with untreated lung cancer. A respiratory-gated multi-echo gradient-echo technique is demonstrated as a feasible method to quantify T2* values of lung tumors. The response of tumor T2* measurements to an oxygen-breathing challenge should be sensitive to tumor hypoxia and could therefore serve as a prognostic indicator before therapy.