USask medical team receives $987,000 to test new imaging agents for improved cancer diagnosis

The federal investment will enable clinical development of first-of-their-kind imaging agents for molecular, non-invasive diagnosis and accurate tumor removal, potentially increasing the survival rate of cancer patients, said team leader and pathology professor Ron Geyer.

“We have developed and are evaluating in human subjects the safety and efficacy of nuclear imaging agents for whole body, non-invasive imaging of tumors and of optical imaging agents for image-guided surgical removal of tumors,” said Geyer. 

“These imaging agents, specifically targeted to markers on cancer cells, will be used to plan treatments, diagnose and characterize cancers, and track their response to therapy in real-time.”

The optical imaging probes will be used to visually differentiate the tumor from adjacent healthy tissue during surgical intervention, enabling more effective and accurate tumor removal. This would significantly reduce tumor recurrence and enhance outcomes, he said.

The imaging agents will also be used to identify patients who will benefit from molecular-targeted therapies.

The university’s Saskatchewan Centre for Cyclotron Sciences, a state-of-the-art cyclotron facility managed by the Fedoruk Centre, will manufacture the imaging agent and the radioactive molecule used for nuclear imaging. The federal funding will enable the purchase of specialized digital imaging equipment to assist with the image-guided human surgery trials.

The team has established collaborations with the Centre for Molecular Immunology Centre (CIM) in Cuba and Innocimab / Innokeys Pte in Singapore, Licor Inc. in the U.S., as well as with the Clinical Trial Support Unit, a joint initiative of the USask College of Medicine, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

The team expects to have preliminary results by December of 2019. The longer term goal is to obtain regulatory approval for the new molecular imaging agents and to establish a Saskatchewan-based company to market them.

The project will be carried out through the USask Centre for Biologic Imaging Research & Development (C-BIRD) which is developing the next generation of molecular imaging agents for cancer diagnostics. C-BIRD co-founders are Geyer and radiopharmacist Humphrey Fonge. 

“This cutting-edge work, which may enable us to diagnose and treat even resistant tumors, is very exciting,” said Fonge, a USask assistant professor of medical imaging.

The announcement was made July 24 in Saskatoon by Canada’s Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale.