Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 MRI in Breast Cancer.

One of the hallmarks of cancer is metabolic reprogramming, including high levels of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect). Pyruvate is a product of glucose metabolism, and 13 C-MR imaging of the metabolism of hyperpolarized (HP) [1- 13 C]pyruvate (HP 13 C-MRI) has been shown to be a potentially versatile tool for the clinical evaluation of tumor metabolism. Hyperpolarization of the 13 C nuclear spin can increase the sensitivity of detection by 4-5 orders of magnitude. Therefore, following intravenous injection, the location of hyperpolarized 13 C-labeled pyruvate in the body and its subsequent metabolism can be tracked using 13 C-MRI. Hyperpolarized [ 13 C]urea and [1,4- 13 C 2 ]fumarate are also likely to translate to the clinic in the near future as tools for imaging tissue perfusion and post-treatment tumor cell death, respectively. For clinical breast imaging, HP 13 C-MRI can be combined with 1 H-MRI to address the need for detailed anatomical imaging combined with improved functional tumor phenotyping and very early identification of patients not responding to standard and novel neoadjuvant treatments. If the technical complexity of the hyperpolarization process and the relatively high associated costs can be reduced, then hyperpolarized 13 C-MRI has the potential to become more widely available for large-scale clinical trials.