The National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) awarded Loyola University of Chicago a $461,844 project grant titled "Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Imaging of Tumorigenesis in the Liver". The objective is to use novel hyperpolarized 13C probes to image glycolysis, a critical pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, and establish in vivo imaging biomarkers to assess altered liver metabolism during HCC progression. The project aims to synthesize a...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.398 Cancer Research Manpower program) provides $196,029 to the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass Medical) to conduct research aimed at deciphering the immune evasion mechanisms associated with mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (mIDH1) in various solid tumors, including intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The research focuses on two key objectives: 1) Elucidating the role of viral mimicry in the response to mIDH1...
This Project Grant award of $518,219 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Biology Research (CFDA 93.396) program supports research at the University of Pittsburgh to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development. The 5-year project aims to investigate the intertwined roles of nuclear receptors FXR and CAR in promoting the malignant transformation of hepatocytes into CCA, particularly in the context of cholestatic liver diseases. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides funding to Mayo Clinic to conduct a phase II clinical trial and accompanying mechanistic research on a novel combination immunotherapy approach for unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA), a rare and aggressive type of liver cancer. The key products and services to be delivered under this $610,890 award, with a project period from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2029,...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $693,781 to The General Hospital Corporation (Massachusetts General Hospital) to conduct research aimed at understanding and treating cancers with mutations in the IDH1 gene. The key objectives are to: Further study how IDH1 mutations and the metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) they produce allow cancer cells to evade the immune system, and identify changes in tumors that lead...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $655,306 Project Grant (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) to The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to develop a novel combination therapy targeting reactive metabolite generation in isocitrate dehydrogenase-mutant (IDHm) gliomas. The key products and services to be delivered under this 5-year award include: Determining the efficacy of combining the glutathione-1 inhibitor BBG with radiation therapy as a lethal...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.394 - Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research) provides $678,515 to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to evaluate 18F-FSPG PET imaging and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as innovative approaches to predict response and recurrence for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) undergoing yttrium-90 radioembolization therapy. The project aims to determine if 18F-FSPG PET can predict response to therapy...
This federal Project Grant award of $671,384 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394), supports research to develop new biomarkers for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) based on changes in glycosylation patterns observed in CCA tissue and serum samples. The primary awardee, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), will collaborate with sub-awardees Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to...
This Project Grant award of $451,000 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286), supports research by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to develop and test hyperpolarized 13C-labeled serine probes for non-invasive in vivo imaging of one-carbon metabolism and formate overflow in hepatocellular carcinoma. The key objectives are to...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a Project Grant under CFDA 93.394 (Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research) to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, doing business as Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania. The $597,766 grant, which runs from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2030, aims to develop novel protocols for dual-tracer PET imaging using a long-axial field-of-view PET scanner. The research has three key objectives: Develop protocols to image fluoroglutamine...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) Federal Grant Program provides funding of $195,180 to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania for a project titled "Noninvasive Assessment of IDH Mutation Status in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma". The project aims to develop a novel diagnostic approach using hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately identify intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA) with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations, a common and therapeutically relevant biomarker. The research team will optimize imaging parameters, characterize the metabolic dynamics of IDH-mutant ICCA cells, and validate the noninvasive detection of IDH-mutated ICCA in patient-derived xenograft mouse models. This work has the potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of ICCA, a deadly liver cancer with limited treatment options.