Imaging with a new contrast agent gives an accurate indication of whether testicular cancer has spread to the lymph glands.

Determining whether cancer has spread is crucial to prescribing the most appropriate treatment for the patient. In testicular cancer, biopsy and computed tomography are used. But one problem is that while enlarged lymph nodes may indicate the spread of cancer, it can also lurk in nodes of normal size. This is not always readily detected.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have been assessing a new contrast agent called ferumoxtran-10, which can more readily detect the spread of testicular cancer. They studied 16 patients, comparing magnetic resonance imaging with and without the contrast agent. They found that for benign disease, the signal from the lymph nodes turned from light to dark when the contrast agent was given. For malignant lymph nodes, the signal stayed the same.

Comparison of the results from this study with those from biopsy showed that the new imaging method is 92 per cent accurate in detecting the spread of testicular cancer. Ferumoxtran-10 is currently awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Source

American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting 5th May 2003