Molecular and metabolic imaging and targeting of tumor heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer (C04)

• Subject Area: Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiobiology ; Hematology, Oncology
• Term: from 2009 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 68647618

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains largely therapy resistant. Our focus is to understand tumor heterogeneity/plasticity, the metabolic and epigenetic regulation and targets via non-invasive and in situ imaging-based approaches. We use well annotated retrospective and prospective patient cohorts and advanced human and mouse in vivo models that recapitulate the complexity of the disease. We combine MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging with multi-parametric MRI, FDG-PET and 13C-MRSI (with C6, A5, Z3) and co-registered histology (C6, Z2) for analysis of tumor subpopulations, metabolic and epigenetic mapping and drug imaging for subtype-specific and innovative targeting approaches.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 824: Imaging for Selection, Monitoring and Individualisation of Cancer Therapies
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Jens T. Siveke; Professor Dr. Axel Karl Walch