Hyperpolarized 13C metabolic MRI of tumor xenografts in fertilized chicken eggs

Motivation: Fertilized chicken eggs with patient-derived tumor transplants on the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) can provide a time- and cost-efficient environment for developing personalized therapies. Metabolic profiling by hyperpolarized 13C MRI, potentially supporting this, has not yet been tested on this model. Goal(s): Demonstrate preclinical hyperpolarized 13C MRI of [1-13C]pyruvate-to-lactate conversion in CAM tumor model. Approach: Establishment of the experimental setup and metabolic 13C MRI of the model using different 13C coil combinations and MR sequences. Results: [1-13C]pyruvate-to-lactate conversion can be localized in a 3mm murine tumor transplant in ovo using a 3D spectrally-selective bSSFP sequence and 7mm passive 13C booster coil. Impact: This study shows for the first time hyperpolarized 13C metabolic MRI of a murine tumor transplant in a fertilized chicken egg. A further validation of this method for different patient-derived tumor transplants could yield further insights for personalized medicine.