Isabelle Iltis1, Jeunghwan Choi2, Emily Colonna1, Manda Vollmers1, Mithun Shenoi3, Joel Slaton4, John Bischof2, Gregory J. Metzger1
1Radiology, University of Minnesota - CMRR, Minneapolis, MN, United States; 2Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota - Bioheat and Mass Transfer Laboratory, Minneapolis, MN, United States; 3Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota - Bioheat and Mass Transfer Laboratory, Minneapolis, MN, United States; 4Department of Urologic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
Cryosurgery for the treatment of tumors is greatly improved by using TNF-α-based nanoparticles injected prior to the procedure. The effect of such molecules on the tumor is called preconditioning and largely remains to be characterized. In this work, we assess the feasibility of DCE-MRI to detect preconditioning of the tumor in vivo in a mouse model of prostate cancer. A significant effect of preconditioning on the tumor, and to a lesser extent the muscle, could be detected, warranting further studies that will allow us to monitor, but also to improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of preconditioning in vivo.