MISSION-Fumarate
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A physiological study of the metabolism of fumarate in cancer using hyperpolarised 13C magnetic resonance imaging
IRAS ID
266343
Contact name
Ferdia Gallagher
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
This study involves the intravenous injection of the endogenous molecule called fumarate to obtain metabolic images using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with cancer and healthy controls as comparison. Fumarate is a chemical that is formed naturally in the body as a biomarker of cell death and necrosis. To increase the MRI signal from fumarate, the molecule is labelled with carbon-13 and put through a process known as hyperpolarisation. Hyperpolarisation is achieved by cooling the labelled fumarate in a strong magnetic field and exposing it to microwaves. Carbon-13 labelling and hyperpolarisation do not alter any of the chemical properties of fumarate and therefore do not affect its natural behaviour in the body. Carbon-13 labelling and hyperpolarisation are simply a means of increasing the signal obtained with MRI. Before injection the fumarate is warmed and passed through quality control checks to ensure temperature, concentration and pH are correct.
The cancer patients in this study will have samples of their cancerous tissue removed through biopsy and/or standard-of-care surgery. The extracted tissue samples will be analysed in the laboratory to determine which tissue properties affect the imaging signal and whether there are any changes in the imaging following treatment with standard-of-care treatment. This study will not impact or affect the patients standard-of-care.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EE/0090
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion