Loco-regional Lymph Node Staging Assessment by Gadofosveset Trisodium-enhanced FDG18PET/MR in Newly Diagnosed Colorectal Cancer

This study examines the ability of the combination of MR and PET imaging to non-invasively determine whether lymph nodes are involved with cancer in colorectal cancer. With current technology, the accuracy of determining whether lymph nodes are involved with colorectal cancer is not 100% and often requires surgical removal of the lymph nodes for confirmation of suspected lymph node status. PET/MR is a new imaging modality that combines the functional information of PET and the multi-parametric capabilities of MR (with additional novel contrast agents) to hopefully allow determination of lymph node status. PET/MR holds the possibility of fundamentally impacting the future management for the cancer patient by ascertaining the lymph node status of a patient without the need for surgical confirmation.