Although becoming more treatable, cancer remains one of the most common causes of death in men and women. Scientists are therefore tirelessly researching new, innovative treatment approaches. For not all types of cancer respond well to chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy, or can be removed relatively easily by surgery.

As part of the ILLUMINATE project, an international consortium is now investigating how a new imaging procedure can predict the success of treatment for people with advanced prostate cancer. Among other things, the focus lies on metabolic magnetic resonance imaging, which makes chemical processes in the body particularly clearly visible. The consortium includes representatives from 15 institutions, including a team led by ELH-PI Prof Dr Tom Scheenen. The project will start in November 2024 and run for 54 months.

ILLUMINATE will be the first time that metabolic magnetic resonance imaging (MeMRI) is used in the diagnosis and treatment, or theranostics for short, of people with metastatic prostate cancer. It is assumed that using MeMRI, therapy resistance in prostate cancer can be recognised earlier and alternative treatment methods can be developed. In the long run, this form of tomography might also be used in earlier stages of cancer and for other types of cancer.

Currently, the overall tumour load is usually assessed in castration-resistant prostate cancer after two or three months and several treatment cycles, to determine whether a patient is responding positively to treatment. With metabolic MRI, however, it is possible to detect metabolic changes in a tumour that precede a structural change, even after the first or second cycle of treatment. At the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MRI, Tom Scheenen now aims to further develop this method for clinical application.

‘Metabolic MRI would make it possible to assess the success of treatment at an early stage and adapt a patient's individual therapy,’ says Tom Scheenen.

Press Release University of Duisburg-Essen