In Vivo Imaging Facility

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Abstract: In Vivo Imaging Facility (IVIF) Advances in cancer management require the development of new therapies, and state-of-the-art imaging technologies are needed to assess response to those therapies. The Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) In Vivo Imaging Facility (IVIF) provides novel quantitative imaging techniques that trace biomarkers of molecular events and immunotherapy response associated with effective cancer therapy. Validation of advanced imaging techniques that are specific for relevant cellular processes are required to detect and measure the efficacy of novel anticancer therapies and measure early tumoricidal response. As part of this facility, PET tracers targeting various tumor markers and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, as well as complementary optical and MR methodologies, are being developed to sensitively and specifically quantify drug-cancer cell interactions. The IVIF provides a critical shared resource for testing PET tracers in in vivo rodent models of cancer and validating promising agents in humans through quantitative imaging trials. The overall goal of the IVIF is to provide pre-clinical and clinical imaging services to HCC investigators to assist in visualizing mechanisms of biomarker action, provide approaches for early disease detection, and monitor therapeutic efficacy. The IVIF supports all 7 programs at HCC, and has contributed to high impact publications in Immunity, Cancer Cell, Theranostics and Nature Communications, among other journals. IVIF had 76 users of which 66 were HCC investigators. Of the 66 HCC users, 42 had peer-reviewed funding. The Specific Aims of the IVIF: (1) Assess biomarker expression throughout cancer treatment using a single modality or a combination of modalities, both clinically and pre-clinically; (2) provide non-invasive imaging services for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in humans and animal models of cancer; (3) provide standard imaging assessment services to evaluate all types of treatment response using the FDA-approved and other standard imaging assessment criteria; (4) provide and incorporate novel imaging analytics such as radiomics and radiogenomics for clinical and preclinical tumor characterizations; and (5) develop novel imaging algorithms, advanced imaging analytics, radiotracers, and contrast agents for clinical and pre-clinical oncological imaging to monitor and evaluate treatment response and agents for targeted radionuclide therapy. Key Services Include: (1) PET radiotracer development and production for human PET-CT and PET-MRI; (2) pre-clinical PET-CT and clinical or preclinical assessment of biomarker expression during cancer treatment; and (3) developing methods for monitoring drug treatments and other types of therapy with PET-CT, CT, and/or MRI through the use of molecular imaging, standard imaging assessments, tumor volumetrics, radiomics and radiogenomics.