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Translating Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic MRI to Predict Renal Tumor Aggressiveness

Award Number: R01CA249909
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2025

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Translating Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic MRI to Predict Renal Tumor Aggressiveness - Project summary: This project aims to clinically translate hyperpolarized (HP) 13C pyruvate MRI as an innovative metabolic imaging approach for noninvasive prediction of renal tumor aggressiveness, an unmet clinical need. Our study is in direct response to PAR 19-264 that supports “The optimization, application and validation of emerging imaging or biomarker approaches targeted specifically for clinical application”, with the goals to “reduce overdiagnosis”, and “identify lethal cancers from non-lethal disease”. Our project is motivated by the rising incidence of renal tumors, largely due to the increased utilization of imaging with incidental discovery of many localized tumors. These include both benign renal tumors and malignant renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). Current imaging or biopsies cannot reliably differentiate between benign tumors, low grade RCCs, and high grade RCCs. The diagnostic ambiguity has led to an overdiagnosis of many indolent tumors which are unnecessarily treated by surgery with surgical risks, and importantly, increased risk of chronic kidney disease and associated cardiovascular disease. Notably, the increased detection of RCCs has not translated into a decrease in cancer specific death. Therefore, there is a significant unmet need for novel imaging markers that can improve the risk stratification of localized renal tumors to guide patient management. HP 13C MRI is an emerging imaging technology that allows real-time pathway-specific investigation of metabolic processes that were previously inaccessible by imaging. Our pre-clinical data in orthotopic RCC tumor models have shown that HP 13C pyruvate MRI can quantitatively map the increased pyruvate-to-lactate metabolism via the lactate dehydrogenase pathway, an imageable biomarker which is strongly linked to the presence of RCC and its aggressiveness. We have also demonstrated the feasibility of acquiring dynamic HP 13C pyruvate MRI of renal tumors in patients, with excellent metabolic contrast between tumor and normal kidney. Building upon these promising preliminary data, we now propose to investigate for the first time the value of HP 13C pyruvate MRI for risk stratifying localized renal tumors. Aim 1- we will optimize the MRI acquisition strategies for renal tumor metabolic evaluation. Aim 2- we will investigate the value of HP 13C pyruvate MRI for differentiating between benign tumors, low grade RCCs, and high grade RCCs. We will also compare HP 13C data to advanced 1H MRI and radiomics analyses, and develop multi-parametric model to assess whether it can improve the prediction. Aim 3- we will determine the repeatability of HP 13C pyruvate MRI of renal tumors, and evaluate new analysis methods to further improve the robustness of metabolism quantification. Successful completion of this project will provide the first data on the value of HP 13C pyruvate MRI in predicting renal tumor aggressiveness, and will pave the way for future larger clinical studies. HP 13C pyruvate has already been shown to be safe, and we envision the 13C metabolic imaging markers to be incorporated into a state-of-the-art multi-parametric MRI to reduce the current overdiagnosis of indolent tumors while enabling the early detection of aggressive RCCs, and help safely select patients for active surveillance.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $634,908 )
2025	2025	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94103	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	5	12/23/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$571,418
2025	2025	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94103	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	5	6/2/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$63,490
														Subtotal = $634,908

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $603,163 )
2024	2024	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	4	12/20/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$571,418
2024	2024	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94103	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	4	4/17/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$31,745
														Subtotal = $603,163

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $697,045 )
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	002	3	3/20/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$1,497
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	3	2/8/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$73,339
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	3	1/27/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$622,209
														Subtotal = $697,045

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $630,597 )
2022	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	003	2	9/14/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2022	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	2	4/28/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$48,168
2022	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	2	12/23/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$541,900
2022	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	002	2	9/1/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$40,529
														Subtotal = $630,597

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $599,430 )
2021	2021	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94143	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	1	12/15/2020	NEW	$599,430
														Subtotal = $599,430

Grand Total All Awards = $3,165,143

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Translating Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic MRI to Predict Renal Tumor Aggressiveness

Award Number: R01CA249909

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2025

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