Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Screening Using Contrast-Enhanced Molecular Photoacoustic Imaging
Abstract
Scientific Objective and Rationale: Prostate cancer is one of the most prominent cancers in the U.S. population and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Prostate cancer is known for its high survival rate when it is detected early because of its slow tumor growth, but the survival rate drops with the onset of metastasis and subsequent accelerated tumor growth. Thus, screening is critical to find cancers in its early stage, when they are likely to be easier to treat. Currently, a definitive diagnosis of prostate cancer is made upon ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate. Ultrasound imaging delineates anatomical structures and is known as a patient-friendly system because it is safe as a noninvasive and nonradioactive imaging modality and it has low cost. However, ultrasound-guided biopsy is more systematic rather than lesion-specific, in that the prevalence of isoechoic or nearly invisible prostate cancers ranges from 25 to 42%, leading to a high error rate. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsy has its advantage of providing high-resolution guidance. MRI is expensive and not ideally suited for real-time imaging. Given the limitations of the current diagnostic methods, there is a need to develop a new targeted prostate imaging modality that could offer high sensitivity and selectivity, thereby significantly improving accuracy of the prostate cancer diagnoses and disease progression assessments. In this proposal, we will develop a molecular photoacoustic (PA) imaging approach for prostate cancer. This imaging approach will be real-time, noninvasive, nonionizing, highly selective and specific. Ultimate Applicability: The goal of this project is to devise a new prostate cancer screening method for improving prostate cancer diagnosis and for assessing tumor progression by staging cancer aggressiveness. The proposed technology can be applied to various patient populations, including those suspected to have prostate cancer, by being used as a screening modality for early stage detection. In addition, through image-based cancer stage assessment, it can be used to avoid overtreatment for patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer, a major concern for prostate cancer patients. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility using clinical ultrasound and in vivo mice models. This technique has a clear and rapid pathway be translated into clinic, in that most of the systems used are either safe or already exist in the hospital, such as an ultrasound scanner. The utilized molecular biomarker targeting prostate cancer has been widely tested on humans through radionuclide imaging. We envision to translation to clinical trials in a range of 5 to 10 years. Career Goals in Prostate Cancer Research: My career goal is to become a biomedical researcher who can contribute to improving the healthcare system by developing innovative medical imaging technologies. To minimize deaths due to prostate cancer, I have set my objective to develop novel imaging technologies to achieve early diagnosis, control, and precise treatment of prostate cancer. The proposed research plan is a clear path to accomplish this project by completing the research stream: idea development, theory, simulation, phantom experiment, and in vivo examination. This project requires knowledge and skills from multidisciplinary fields, including chemistry, biology, medicine, ultrasound physics, and optics physics. Under these settings, I set my development strategy as follows: 1. I will obtain the knowledge and skills required to accomplish this project through cancer-related coursework and learning from mentors. 2. I will learn about the background and latest developments behind prostate cancer detection and treatment from Dr. Pomper. 3. I will continue my career in academia and pay the experience forward to my future students. I have three mentors and one collaborator: Dr. Emad Boctor (Primary Mentor),
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1810188
Entities
People
- Haichong Zhang
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University
- United States Army