Revealing Cancer Phenotype-Specific Biomarkers in a Cell Perfusing System by 13C & 1H MRS

Rui Vasco Simoes¹, Ellen Ackerstaff¹, Natalia Kruchevsky¹, Carl Le¹, Kristen Zakian¹, Jason A. Koutcher¹

Cancer development and progression is characterized by changes in the metabolic phenotype, such as enhanced aerobic glycolysis, which leads to acidification of the tumor microenvironment, and increased choline metabolism. However, the large variety of cancer phenotypes reported is difficult to screen in the clinical setting, leading to poor outcome. In this work we have used a MR-compatible cell perfusion system to study two cancer cell lines, with different metastatic potentials, during controlled environmental changes. The preliminary 13C and 1H MRS data obtained suggests differences in metabolism between the two cell lines.