Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Tumor Glycolysis Using Hyperpolarized 13C-Labelled Glucose

Tiago B. Rodrigues¹, Eva M. Serrao¹, Brett W.C. Kennedy¹, De-En Hu¹, Kevin M. Brindle¹, Mikko I. Kettunen¹

Tumor cells frequently display high rates of aerobic glycolysis, resulting in increased lactate production and correlating with a poor prognosis and increased tumor aggressiveness and metatasis. We show here that hyperpolarized [U-²H, U-¹³C]glucose allows real-time monitoring of tumor glycolysis in vivo, through the production of hyperpolarized [U-¹³C]lactate, and that this flux is substantially reduced in murine EL4 lymphoma tumors by 24 h after etoposide treatment. Although the sensitivity of MR detection of hyperpolarized [U-²H, U-¹³C]glucose is much lower than PET detection of FDG, it has some significant potential advantages for detecting tumor treatment response.