Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Tumor Hypoxia Assessment: In Vivo 3D Oxygen Imaging Through Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
Published on: February 14, 2025
Functional characterization of prostate cancer by integrated magnetic resonance imaging and oxygenation changes
Till Diergarten1, Petros Martirosian, Raimund Kottke
1Department of Radiology, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Germany. till.diergarten@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Objective:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in oxygenation of prostate cancer induced by carbogen breathing using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance image (MRI) with an endorectal coil (eMRI).
Materials And Methods:
In 32 patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer, endorectal MRI was performed at 1.5 Tesla using the BOLD method. Images were acquired during 4 x 4-minute episodes alternating between room air and carbogen (95% O2/5% CO2) breathing. In each episode, 40 images were acquired (T2*-weighted EPI sequence, 12-14 slices, 3-mm thickness). All patients underwent radical prostatectomy; BOLD-MRI findings were correlated with the histopathologic results.
Results:
BOLD-MRI could be evaluated in 29 patients, and revealed heterogeneous signal changes of normal prostate and cancer tissue similar to the heterogeneity of prostate tissue in anatomic/pathologic preparation. A significant signal intensity increase (P = 0.004) was found in normal central gland and peripheral zone during carbogen breathing. Signal enhancement in carcinoma was significantly lower (P = 0.004) compared with the contralateral normal side.
Conclusion:
Intrinsic blood-tissue contrast-functional MRI during carbogen breathing may help detect and characterize prostate carcinoma from normal tissue, particularly in small 1-sided carcinomas. This may be useful for identifying candidates for radiotherapy and monitoring noninvasive therapeutic approaches.
