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DDG-MRI for cancer detection - A novel medical imaging approach that correlates to FDG-PET without ionising radiation

Project description

A safer, radiation-free technique for metabolic cancer imaging by MRI

Metabolic imaging is a crucial medical procedure for cancer detection and evaluating treatment response. However, the ionising radiation involved in this procedure, positron emission tomography (PET), restricts frequent use and vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women. Therefore, there is a growing need for a safer, more accessible imaging method for cancer. MRI is the method of choice because it does not involve ionising radiation; however, standard-of-care MRI does not support metabolic imaging. The EIC-funded DDG-MRI project aims to address this issue by creating a new MRI technique that can provide PET-like images without ionising radiation. The technique involves a unique deoxy-glucose analogue and advanced MRI methods to detect cancer cells, offering patients a safer and quicker alternative.

Objective

Positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) uptake have been widely used clinically for tumour staging, prognosis, and treatment monitoring, where it can be more sensitive at detecting treatment response than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerised tomography (CT) -based evaluations of tumour size. 2-deoxy-D-glucose (DG) and FDG are non-metabolisable derivatives of D-glucose that get trapped in the cells of active or malignant tissues. Even though highly sensitive, the ionising radiation associated with FDG-PET limits its frequent application (typically not more than 2-3 examinations per year) and its use in populations such as children and pregnant women, who may otherwise benefit from this valuable and unique diagnostic imaging examination. As such, alternative techniques are highly demanded.
The DDG-MRI project aims at providing the benefits of FDG-PET without ionising radiation. We propose an MRI-based imaging agent and technique that will provide PET-like images with MRI without ionising radiation. To this end, we will make use of 1) a novel DG analogue that is uniformly labelled with deuterons ([D8]2-deoxy-D-glucose) and 2) rapid and sensitive deuterium MRI schemes targeted at demonstrating the uptake of this agent in malignant tissues further to intravenous administration. The expected spatial resolution will exceed that of FDG-PET (~2-3 mm in plane) in a scan time of about 2 min, with a clinically acceptable and commercially relevant dose of the labelled compound. DDG-MRI is likely to be quickly adopted by medical centres as it does not require significant hardware changes, does not change the MRI suite workflow, and is expected to cost the same as a PET scan. This consortium comprises six partners (two from industry) from five countries, enthusiastic about making DDG-MRI a medical reality for cancer detection and treatment monitoring.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDEROPEN-01

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Coordinator

HADASSAH MEDICAL ORGANIZATION
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 500 000,00
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 500 000,00

Participants (6)

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