Sugar can help MRI scanner detect cancer in body

Researchers have developed a new and cheaper technique to detect cancer which uses sugar to light up tumours in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

The breakthrough by  scientists could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail, researchers said.

The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth.

The researchers found that sensitising an MRI scanner to glucose uptake caused tumours to appear as bright images on MRI scans of mice.

GlucoCEST uses radio waves to magnetically label glucose in the body. This can then be detected in tumours using conventional MRI techniques .

The method uses an injection of normal sugar and could offer a cheap, safe alternative to existing methods for detecting tumours, which require the injection of radioactive material.

We can detect cancer using the same sugar content found in half a standard sized chocolate bar. Our research reveals a useful and cost-effective method for imaging cancers using MRI – a standard imaging technology available in many large hospitals,” said the lead author.

“In the future, patients could potentially be scanned in local hospitals, rather than being referred to specialist medical centres,” he said.

“Our cross-disciplinary research could allow vulnerable patient groups such as pregnant women and young children to be scanned more regularly, without the risks associated with a dose of radiation,” according to  another senior author on the study.

We have developed a new state-of-the-art imaging technique to visualise and map the location of tumours that will hopefully enable us to assess the efficacy of novel cancer therapies.

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