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  • Review Article
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Lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI for the staging of genitourinary tumors

Nature Reviews Urology volume 7, pages 84–93 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Nanotechnology is poised to have a substantial influence on biomedicine. A unique example of a nanotechnology that has progressed from proof-of-concept to human clinical trials is the use of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a cell-specific contrast agent for MRI. When injected systemically, these particles are taken up by macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system and accumulate in lymph nodes. This passive, cell-specific targeting of the iron oxide nanoparticles to lymph nodes, and the differential cellular content of benign versus malignantly infiltrated nodes make this method suitable for cancer staging. By using lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI, differences in benign versus malignant infiltration of lymph nodes can be visualized, which adds accuracy to standard MRI beyond criteria based solely upon the size and shape of lymph nodes. This technology has been used to assess lymph node metastases in a large number of human cancer types. In this Review, we focus on lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI and its application for the staging of genitourinary malignancies.

Key Points

  • Current imaging modalities, including CT, MRI, and PET have limited sensitivity and specificity for imaging lymph node metastases

  • Lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI (LNMRI) adds cell-specific information to conventional MRI

  • LNMRI might provide improved clinical assessment of lymph nodes in patients with genitourinary malignancies

  • Continued evaluation of LNMRI is necessary to broadly validate this technology in large multicenter trials

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Figure 1: Characteristics of nanoparticles used for lymphotropic nanoparticle-enhanced MRI.
Figure 2: Mechanism of action of lymphotropic superparamagnetic nanoparticles.
Figure 3: Nodal abnormalities detected by MRI in three patients with prostate cancer.
Figure 4: Patterns of enhancement for determining malignant infiltration of lymph nodes using lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI.

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  1. Department of Radiology, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Tarry 16-703, Chicago, 60611, IL, USA

    Samdeep K. Mouli & Reed A. Omary

  2. Department of Urology, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Tarry 16-703, Chicago, 60611, IL, USA

    Lee C. Zhao & C. Shad Thaxton

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C. S. Thaxton declares that he is a co-founder of AuraSense, a start-up biotechnology company focusing on the commercialization of therapeutic and theranostic nanoparticles, and a shareholder in Nanosphere, a nanotechnology biodiagnostic company. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Mouli, S., Zhao, L., Omary, R. et al. Lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI for the staging of genitourinary tumors. Nat Rev Urol 7, 84–93 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2009.254

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