# Nanoparticle contrast agents for earlier breast cancer detection

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $524,525

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Breast cancer is by far the most common type of cancer and is the second most deadly cancer in women.
Breast cancer mammography screening programs for early detection are widespread. Mammography
screening reduces mortality from breast cancer and is cost-effective. However, it has emerged that
mammography is not very effective in women with dense breasts (about 10% of women), with sensitivity of 30-
60%. Moreover, independent of the lower chance of tumor detection, women with dense breasts are at a
higher risk of breast cancer. Therefore to reduce mortality from breast cancer in this population, better
screening techniques are needed.
Dual-energy mammography has recently emerged as a technique that is highly sensitive and specific for
detecting cancer in women with dense breasts. A contrast agent for dual-energy mammography that can
identify tumors would be highly beneficial in women with dense breasts, as well as in selected high-risk
populations. Currently available iodine-based contrast agents have poor pharmacokinetics, low tumor
accumulation and are contraindicated in many patients. While other techniques such as contrast-enhanced
MRI can be used for screening women with dense breasts, the high costs and practical obstacles prevent the
use of those techniques.
We herein propose to develop novel, biodegradable silver-based nanoparticles (SBNP) to allow safe detection
of tumors in patients at higher risk of breast cancer. We have found that silver is an element that produces
excellent contrast in dual-energy mammography a new variation of mammography where two images are
acquired at different x-ray energies. We have found methods that make the nanoparticles stable and
biocompatible. We have chosen a comparatively simple, yet flexible nanoparticle design in order to improve
the likelihood of translation. The nanoparticles should quickly accumulate in tumors, rendering them
conspicuous on mammography, before gradually breaking down into their components for renal excretion. This
proposal addresses a key challenge in the use of nanoparticles in cancer: excretion. As part of this proposal
we will develop a biodegradable carrier system that can deliver small, highly hydrophilic nanoparticles to
tumors, before breakdown and renal excretion. This carrier system could have a broad impact, since it could
be applied to numerous different nanoparticle types and anti-cancer approaches.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10142384
- **Project number:** 5R01CA227142-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** David Peter Cormode
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $524,525
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10142384

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10142384, Nanoparticle contrast agents for earlier breast cancer detection (5R01CA227142-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10142384. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*