Molecular Imaging of Extracellular Tumor pH to Reveal Effects of Locoregional Therapy on Liver Cancer Microenvironment

To establish magnetic resonance (MR)-based molecular imaging paradigms for the noninvasive monitoring of extracellular pH (pHe) as a functional surrogate biomarker for metabolic changes induced by locoregional therapy of liver cancer.Thirty-two VX2 tumor-bearing New Zealand white rabbits underwent longitudinal imaging on clinical 3T-MRI and CT scanners before and up to 2 weeks after complete conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) using ethiodized oil (lipiodol) and doxorubicin. MR-spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) was employed for pHe mapping. Multiparametric MRI and CT were performed to quantify tumor enhancement, diffusion, and lipiodol coverage of the tumor posttherapy. In addition, incomplete cTACE with reduced chemoembolic doses was applied to mimic undertreatment and exploit pHe mapping to detect viable tumor residuals. Imaging findings were correlated with histopathologic markers indicative of metabolic state (HIF-1α, GLUT-1, and LAMP-2) and viability (proliferating cell nuclear antigen and terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase dUTP nick-end labeling).Untreated VX2 tumors demonstrated a significantly lower pHe (6.80 ± 0.09) than liver parenchyma (7.19 ± 0.03, P < 0.001). Upregulation of HIF-1α, GLUT-1, and LAMP-2 confirmed a hyperglycolytic tumor phenotype and acidosis. A gradual tumor pHe increase toward normalization similar to parenchyma was revealed within 2 weeks after complete cTACE, which correlated with decreasing detectability of metabolic markers. In contrast, pHe mapping after incomplete cTACE indicated both acidic viable residuals and increased tumor pHe of treated regions. Multimodal imaging revealed durable tumor devascularization immediately after complete cTACE, gradually increasing necrosis, and sustained lipiodol coverage of the tumor.MRSI-based pHe mapping can serve as a longitudinal monitoring tool for viable tumors. As most liver tumors are hyperglycolytic creating microenvironmental acidosis, therapy-induced normalization of tumor pHe may be used as a functional biomarker for positive therapeutic outcome.