New MRI scan could sharpen cancer detection
NCT ID NCT02421380
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 22, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study is testing whether a new MRI technique using a substance called hyperpolarized pyruvate gives consistent results in people with solid tumors. About 109 participants will have two special MRI scans to see if the images are reproducible. The goal is to improve how doctors see tumor metabolism, not to treat the cancer.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- hyperpolarized pyruvate
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a more reliable way to see tumor metabolism using MRI, helping doctors better understand and monitor cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage reproducibility study, not a treatment trial. It may not show clear benefits for patients, and the technique might not be widely usable.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 109 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Apr 2015
- Expected to finish
-
Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
21 to 90 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with history of histologically-confirmed malignant solid tumor (histology confirmed by MSKCC Department of Pathology.) NOTE: An exception will be made for patients with brain lesions. Patients identified by a radiologist to have a brain lesion with high suspicion for neoplasm given MRI features will be enrolled, prior to histological confirmation. * Disease measurable or evaluable as defined by RECIST 1.1, a mass of greater than 1cm in the long axis and/or other tumor response criteria from an MSKCC IRB-approved clinical research protocol. NOTE: Study patients do not need to be participating in an MSKCC approved clinical trial prior to study recruitment. * Negative serum or urine pregnancy test for female patients of childbearing age and potential (as defined by MSKCC Standards \& Guidelines), from assays obtained \< 2 weeks prior to study enrollment. * This study will include only patients with sarcoma, prostate, breast, brain, metastatic or pancreatic cancer. In the future other patient groups may be included through amendment of this protocol. Exclusion Criteria: * Inability or refusal to have at least one peripheral intravenous line for intravenous access (as applicable to the day of \[1-13C\] pyruvate injection) * Breast-feeding * Refusal or inability to tolerate the scanning procedure (e.g., due to claustrophobia) * Hepatic: from assays obtained within 3-4 weeks prior to study enrollment. For each patient, the upper limit of normal (ULN) value for a particular assay will be defined by the normal reference values of the laboratory that performed the assay * Bilirubin \> 1.5 x (ULN) * AST/ALT \>2.5 x ULN * Albumin \< 3 g/dl * GGT \> 2.5 x ULN if Alkaline phosphatase \> 2.5 x ULN. * Renal: Creatinine \>1.5 x ULN or creatinine clearance \< 60 mL/min, from assays obtained within 3-4 weeks prior to study enrollment * Acute major illness (e.g., unstable cardiovascular condition, etc.) * Standard MRI exclusion criteria will also be applied, including pacemakers and metal clips located in the patient.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Brain cancer are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Consent only )
RECRUITINGMontvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
-
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10065, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a common steroid shield breast cancer patients from a dangerous drug side effect?
- Tiny magnetic seeds could guide surgeons to the right lymph node
- A scanner in the operating room could show surgeons exactly where prostate cancer remains
- New PET tracer aims to light up hidden cancer targets
- Experimental therapy aims to turn brain tumors against themselves
- Gut bacteria supplement tested against chemo hair loss