Enhanced computed tomography imaging of breast cancer via phosphatidylserine targeted gold nanoparticles

Abstract

Breast cancer has one of the highest mortality rates usually due to metastatic development. Mammograms are the current standard of diagnosis; however due to the low sensitivity and high rate of misdiagnosis, patients either experience false positives or negatives leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. One of key disadvantages of mammograms is their failed ability to differentiate between a dense breast and a tumor, usually leading to more mammograms and more expensive diagnostic tools. In order to provide a widely available imaging tool, targeted gold nanoparticles have been developed. Gold nanoparticles have been designed with annexin V surface modification to specifically bind phosphatidylserine expressing tumor cells and tumor vasculature. In vitro and in vivo studies showed a significant increase in contrast with targeted nanoparticles. Tumors as small as 4 mm were detectable 4 h post-injection, providing evidence of a promising, sensitive tool for early breast cancer diagnosis.