Injecting Oxygen in tumors

[Guest guest]

June 2, 2009

" A simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test involving breathing oxygen might

help oncologists determine the best treatment for some cancer patients, report

researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Prior research has shown that the

amount of oxygen present in a tumor can be a predictor of how well a patient

will respond to treatment. Tumors with little oxygen tend to grow stronger and

resist both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Until now, however, the only way to

gauge the oxygen level in a tumor, and thus determine which treatment might be

more effective, was to insert a huge needle directly into the cancerous tumor. "

" The patient simply inhales pure oxygen, which then circulates through the

bloodstream, including to the tumors, " said Dr. Ralph Mason, professor of

radiology, director of the UT Southwestern Cancer Imaging Center and senior

author of a study appearing online and in a future edition of Magnetic Resonance

in Medicine. " Using MRI, we can then go in and estimate how much oxygen a

particular tumor is taking up, providing us some insight into how the tumor is

behaving and what sort of treatment might be effective. "

Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center. Much more on this article can be found

at the website listed below.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/03/oxygen.mri.might.help.determine.canc\

er.therapy.success.researchers.find

FYI,

Lottie