Abstract
By using MRI, we studied the correlation between saturation transfer ratio (STR) and physical state of water in copolymer gels, and that between STR and histologic parameters of human breast carcinomas. Fourteen copolymer gels were composed of any two or three monomers among HEMA, GMA, N-VP and MMA (water contents: 18.4–83.0%). Twenty-seven patients with histologically confirmed invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast were participated. These carcinomas were classified based on their histologic features. To evaluate STRs, an off-resonance MR technique for preferential saturation of the immobile protons was used (irradiation at 4 and 19 ppm). In the copolymer gels, there was a good correlation between STR values in MRI and the hydrophilicity of various copolymer gels, especially the STR-4 (STR at 4 ppm) values were found to be more separable parameter depending on the different hydrophilicity of the samples. In the breast carcinomas, STR-4 values were correlated well with the intracellular characteristics, whereas STR-19 values were correlated with the histologic intercellular structure. Intracellular macromolecules contain a large number of OH groups. STR-4 values are increased with increasing dysplastic changes of nuclei and mitotic index, suggesting that STR-4 values might reflect the amount of bound water or the degree of hydration with the intracellular macromolecules. [Jpn J Physiol 55 Suppl:S69 (2005)]
