Noninvasive Diagnostic Imaging of Aberrant Sarcosine Biochemistry in Prostate Cancer
Abstract
According to estimates from the American Cancer Society, there will be about 268,490 new cases of prostate cancer and 34,500 deaths from prostate cancer in the United States in 2022. This type of cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death of men in the United States, behind only lung cancer. Early and accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer is of paramount importance to guide for proper therapeutic intervention and reduce the mortality rate of this disease. Responding to this diagnostic need, this study seeks to take advantage on the abnormal biochemistry in prostate cancer and turn it into its diagnostic Achilles’ heel. Glycine is an amino acid that is endogenous or naturally present in our cells. It was reported previously that prostate tumors tend to produce abnormally copious amounts the biochemical sarcosine and the raw material needed for its biosynthesis is the amino acid glycine. To turn this metabolic anomaly in prostate cancer into a diagnostic advantage, this project will utilize a technology called hyperpolarization that has the ability to amplify the magnetic resonance imaging signals of biochemical such as glycine by >10,000-fold. The use of hyperpolarized glycine with supercharged MRI signals could potentially offer a new kind of diagnostic molecular imaging for prostate cancer by looking at the ensuing elevated sarcosine production as MRI biomarker for this malignancy. This project aims to improve the detection/diagnosis of this disease that may impact mission readiness and the health and well-being of military members, Veterans, their beneficiaries, and the general public. In addition, this research study addresses one of the FY22 PCRP Overarching Challenges, define the biology of prostate cancer progression to lethal prostate cancer to reduce death. The main innovation of this project is that, for the first time, the hyperactive sarcosine synthesis that is indicative of prostate cancer can potentially be visualized in vivo as it happens in the tissues using the combined high sensitivity and chemical specificity of hyperpolarized MRI technology. No other current technology can potentially provide this capability in a noninvasive and nonradioactive manner. Moreover, since glycine is a natural biochemical in the body and will be administered at physiological concentration as an injectable MRI agent, there is a high propensity that this potential MRI biomarker for prostate cancer can be translated for use in the clinic. The main impact of this research is that it could potentially provide a more clear-cut, non-invasive, and non-radioactive molecular imaging tool that will not only detect and locate prostate tumors, but also has a way to assess its malignancy with an MRI metabolic biomarker. This study could potentially provide a much-needed additional tool in the diagnostic arsenal for prostate cancer patients in the military and civilian sectors with high sensitivity and molecular precision.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310062
Entities
People
- Lloyd Lumata
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Texas at Dallas