This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Breast cancer continues to be the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women according to American Cancer Society statistics for 2004. This highlights the need for research in breast cancer detection techniques to facilitate detection and treatment at an early stage in the disease. A detection technique with high sensitivity and specificity would also decrease the current high rate of negative biopsies of women with breast masses and help tailor individualized therapeutic options. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast enhanced with conventional, T1 altering, small molecular contrast agents have a high sensitivity for breast cancer detection but a limited specificity for characterization of the detected lesions. Conventional macromolecular contrast agents have the potential to provide this tissue differentiation but the sensitivity is low. One cannot use these two types of agents together as it would be impossible to distinguish between effects of the two. A novel class of paramagnetic contrast agents based on the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) effect has been recently proposed for MRI applications. This new class of PARACEST contrast agents needs to be urgently evaluated in vivo especially since the theoretically predicted sensitivity of these agents is higher than conventional Gd-based agents. Due to its very low T1 relaxivity compared to Gd-DTPA, its administration will not affect a Gd-DTPA study performed on the same subject subsequently.
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