FCI-Glioblastoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Applying new MRI technology to improve outcomes from chemoradiotherapy treatment for adult patients with glioblastoma
IRAS ID
361569
Contact name
Anne Kiltie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 26 days
Research summary
Glioblastoma is the commonest and most aggressive type of brain tumour affecting adults, with over 3,000 new patients in the UK diagnosed each year. Half of patients die within 15 months of diagnosis, even after extensive surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Field cycling imaging (FCI) is a new and specialist type of low-field MRI scan, pioneered in Aberdeen and we currently have the only FCI scanner used in patients in the world. The team of doctors and scientists involved in this project will scan glioblastoma patients undergoing chemotherapy after surgery and chemoradiotherapy. This will tell us whether, unlike with our usual MRI scans, FCI can tell the difference between tumour growth (progression) and ‘pseudo-progression’ (which looks like tumour but is not cancerous tissue). This could improve care and quality of life in future patients.
Eighteen patients will be scanned three times over 6 months with FCI and MRI, before during and after chemotherapy, to test our hypothesis that FCI scan data can distinguish progression from pseudo-progression. We expect to identify unique ‘biomarkers’ from the FCI scan data, which provide more detailed information than a standard MRI. These will help us design future larger clinical trials in FCI, recruiting patients from across Scotland.
Our study should also tell us which machine settings we should choose to give us the most information, which would allow us to develop small, portable, inexpensive scanners, which could be installed at other hospitals. This will result in better treatment, at lower cost, in glioblastoma patients world-wide.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
25/SS/0103
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion