MISSION-liver v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Physiological study comparing hyperpolarised carbon-13 labelled pyruvate (13C pyruvate) metabolism in normal tissues and tumours
IRAS ID
183958
Contact name
Ian B. Wilkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study involves the intravenous injection of the molecule pyruvate to obtain metabolic images of the liver using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in healthy volunteers and in cancer patients with liver metastases. Pyruvate is a sugar-like chemical that is formed naturally in the body as part of the breakdown of glucose. To increase the MRI signal from pyruvate, the molecule is labelled with carbon-13 and undergoes a process known as hyperpolarization. Hyperpolarization is achieved by cooling the labelled pyruvate in a strong magnetic field and exposing it to microwaves. Carbon-13 labelling and hyperpolarization do not alter any of the chemical properties of pyruvate and therefore do not affect its natural behaviour in the body. Carbon-13 labelling and hyperpolarization are simply a means of increasing the signal obtained with MRI. Before injection, the pyruvate is warmed and passed through quality control checks to ensure temperature, concentration and pH are within the accepted range.
The participants in this study will undergo C13-MRS(I), have several venous blood samples taken and access to tumour tissue from cancer patients acquired prior to, or during the course of the study will be requested. The data acquired from C13-MR Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) is anticipated to provide real-time analysis of metabolic fluxes in healthy and diseased tissues. The venous blood samples will allow the examination of correlation between the blood pyruvate levels and the MR signal. Where possible, the correlation between tissue expression of cancer markers and the MR signal will also be examined. Data acquired during this study will be used to optimise future imaging protocols.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0377
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion