Proton density water fraction as a biomarker of bone marrow cellularity: validation in ex vivo spine specimens

Iain J MacEwan; Nicholas E Glembotski; Darryl D'Lima; Won Bae; Koichi Masuda; Hooman H Rashidi; Loren K Mell; Mark Bydder

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2014.03.005

Proton density water fraction as a biomarker of bone marrow cellularity: validation in ex vivo spine specimens

Magn Reson Imaging. 2014 Nov;32(9):1097-101. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2014.03.005. Epub 2014 Mar 15.

Authors

Iain J MacEwan¹, Nicholas E Glembotski², Darryl D'Lima², Won Bae³, Koichi Masuda⁴, Hooman H Rashidi⁵, Loren K Mell¹, Mark Bydder⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center for Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies, Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, 3855 Health Sciences Dr. #0843, La Jolla, CA, USA.
² Scripps Translational Science Institute, 3344 North Torrey Pines Court Suite 300, La Jolla, CA, USA.
³ Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, 408 Dickinson Street, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁴ Skeletal Translational Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine & VA Medical Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, 408 Dickinson Street, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: mbydder@ucsd.edu.

PMID: 25240720
DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2014.03.005

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for quantifying the proton density water fraction (PDWF) as a biomarker of bone marrow cellularity. Thirty-six human bone marrow specimens from 18 donors were excised and subjected to different measurements of tissue composition: PDWF quantification using a multiple gradient echo MRI technique, three biochemical assays (triglyceride, total lipid and water content) and a histological assessment of cellularity. Results showed a strong correlation between PDWF and bone marrow cellularity from histology (r=0.72). A strong correlation was also found between PDWF and the biochemical assay of water content (r=0.76). These results suggest the PDWF is a predictor of bone marrow cellularity in tissues and can provide a non-invasive assessment of bone marrow changes in clinical patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Keywords: Bone marrow; Cellularity; Fat quantification; MRI.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Validation Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Body Water
Bone Marrow / anatomy & histology*
Bone Marrow Cells
Cadaver
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods*
Lumbar Vertebrae
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Male
Middle Aged
Protons
Reproducibility of Results
Thoracic Vertebrae

Substances

Protons

Grants and funding

R21 CA162718/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States