Use of PET/MRI in assessing treatment response for cervix cancer.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility study of fludeoxyglucose-positron emission tomograpahy-diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI) as a biomarker of treatment response in locally advanced cervical cancer patients receiving chemo-radiotherapy.
IRAS ID
173568
Contact name
Gemma Eminowicz
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 12 days
Research summary
Chemo-radiation is given as a curative treatment for locally advanced cervix cancer. Assessing how well this treatment has worked is important to guide future treatment. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) three months after treatment is used to assess if treatment has been successful. Functional imaging such as diffusion weighted MRI (DW-MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) are imaging techniques which provide information on the biological changes that occur within cells. These can provide early indicators of cell death and treatment response. The aim of this study is to use FDG-PET and DW-MRI to monitor changes through/after treatment in an attempt to find markers that give an early indicator of treatment response. In the future, this may allow us to tailor treatment to patients individually. We may be able to select patients who need a higher radiation dose or a different treatment approach, e.g. surgery after chemo-radiation. To investigate the role of FDG-PET/MRI in this scenario we will perform FDG-PET/MRI before treatment and approximately 5 weeks into treatment. These FDG-PET/MRIs would be in addition to the standard DW-MRI scans which the patients routinely have. The initial feasibility study is to establish an optimum scanning protocol and ensure the data can consistently be collected. The data from these FDG-PET/MRIs will be analysed to find factors that may predict response.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0253
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion