Scientists continue to find new uses for magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) to view the functions of organs in the body.

A team of scientists says it has developed a method to use the MRI to
track how well a certain cancer therapy is working.

In the latest issue of the journal  Nature Biotechnology , the
researchers report that implanted tiny iron oxide particles were able to
determine whether the cancer-fighting cells were on target.

"In four of the eight patients, MRI revealed that the implanted cells
weren't where they needed to be to be effective for treatment," says
Jeff Bulte, an associate professor of radiology at Hopkins' Institute
for Cell Engineering who was part of the research team. A Johns Hopkins
University news release says Bulte was the author of the report and
developed methods to use the iron oxide particles with the anti-cancer
cells.

The iron oxide technique was much more accurate than previous tracking
methods like radioactivity and ultrasound, Bulte said in the news
release. The cells in question are called dendritic cells, which
scientists theorize can stimulate the body's immune system to fight
malignant cells.



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"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc