Correlating MALDI and MRI Biomarkers of Breast Cancer
Abstract
The processes of tumor growth and treatment response are associated with the upregulation of numerous proteins, yet current clinical imaging methods of cancer characterization monitor only gross morphology. This study combines in vivo diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) analysis of healthy and tumorous ex vivo specimens in order to examine the proteomic influences on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) provided by MRI. ADC and MALDI data were acquired in a rat model of C6 glioma brain cancer. Principal component analysis was applied to the MALDI data to generate eigenimages which represent the relative concentration of MALDI data in space. The ADCs and eigenimage intensities were compared in selected anatomical regions using the linear Pearson correlation coefficient. ADC and eigenimage intensity correlated significantly (pvalue less than or equal to 0.05) in 44.0% of the comparisons conducted in this study. Similar ADC populations within specific tissue types correlated with qualitatively similar protein profiles in controls, but less similar protein signatures in tumor rats. The methods developed in this study constitute a novel approach for identification of correlations between non-invasive MR measurements and their underlying molecular-level contrast sources. Moreover, this work represents a basic yet vital step towards the long-term objective of facilitating clinical assessment of tumor status via noninvasive imaging techniques.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 31, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA511918
Entities
People
- Amelie R. Gillman
Organizations
- Vanderbilt University