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Deuterium Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Tracer Distribution in D₂O Clearance Measurements of Tumor Blood Flow in Mice¹

Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201

Proper implementation of direct injection clearance techniques to measure tumor blood flow (TBF) requires knowledge of the tracer distribution because TBF distribution is often inhomogeneous. Therefore, deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance imaging was used to follow tracer (HOD) distribution after direct injection of 10–40 µl isotonic saline/D₂O into RIF-1 tumors. Within 2 to 4 min after intratumor injection, tracer clearance was imaged by obtaining deuterium images every 1.4 min. The mean volume occupied by HOD in tumors in the first image acquired after injection with 10, 20, or 40 µl D₂O was 56 ± 37 (SD) mm³, 44 ± 2.9 mm³, and 174 ± 83 mm³, respectively (n = 3 for each). In these control tumors, HOD was cleared from that volume without an appreciable increase in tracer distribution. In tumors heated for 45 min at 45°C to greatly reduce TBF, the mean tracer volume in the first image after 10-µl D₂O injection was 41 ± 10 mm³ and increased to 111 ± 24 mm³ at 30 min (n = 3). For 10 µl D₂O injected at two distinct sites, the intensity decreased at each site while the sites remained separate (n = 6). The TBF at the two sites, measured independently by fitting the integrated HOD intensity from each site to a monoexponential decay function, was significantly different in only one of the six tumors examined. The use of deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to measure TBF from two (or more in larger tumors) independent sites provides a practical approach to assess TBF heterogeneity. The direct measurement of the tissue volume labeled with tracer and its dependence on injection volume should aid in determining how best to implement direct injection tracer clearance methods.

¹ Support for this work was provided by NIH Grant R01-CA43113 and the Wayne State University Ben Kasle Trust for Cancer Research.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 5/ 8/89. Revised 8/23/89. Accepted 10/11/89.