Novel MRI Technique Distinguishes Healthy Prostate Tissue from Cancerous Using Zinc

A novel MRI method that detects low levels of zinc ion can help distinguish healthy prostate tissue from cancer, University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center radiologists have determined. Typical MRIs don’t reliably distinguish between zinc levels in healthy, malignant, and benign hyperplastic prostate (BHP) tissue, so discovery of the technique could eventually prove useful as a biomarker to track the progression of prostate cancer, according to researchers at the Advanced Imaging Research Center, part of UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. “This research provides the basis for differentiating healthy prostate from prostate cancer by use of a novel Zn(II) ion sensing molecule and MRI,” said senior author Dr. A. Dean Sherry, Director of the Advanced Imaging Research Center and Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern. The findings were published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The potential for translating this method to human clinical imaging is very good, and will be useful for diagnostic purposes. The method may prove useful for monitoring therapies used to treat prostate cancer,” said Dr. Sherry, who is also Professor of Chemistry at UT Dallas, where he holds the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Chair in Systems Biology. The majority of prostate cancers are classified as adenocarcinomas and originate in epithelial cells. The UTSW researchers initially determined that glucose stimulates release of the zinc ions from inside epithelial cells, which they could then track on MRIs. The prostate cancer tissue secreted lower levels of zinc ions, offering an opportunity to distinguish between malignant and healthy tissue.