Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Active Bone Marrow During Radiopharmaceutical Therapy in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
This early phase I trial evaluates the usefulness of chemical shift-encoded (CSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), compared to an established imaging technique (fluorothymidine F-18 positron emission tomography), for identifying active bone marrow in patients receiving radiopharmaceutical therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) and that grows and continues to spread despite the surgical removal of the testes or medical intervention to block androgen production (castration-resistant). Radiopharmaceutical therapy is a promising personalized treatment option driven by patient-specific dosing information. However, radiopharmaceutical therapy can lead to side effects related to active bone marrow depletion. Active bone marrow is responsible for making blood cells. Identifying active bone marrow and differentiating it from inactive bone marrow may help researchers better understand and predict blood-related side effects from cancer treatment, but current dosing approaches are not able to predict these side effects with meaningful certainty. MRI is an imaging procedure in which radio waves and a power magnet linked to a computer are used to create detailed pictures of internal organs and tissues. CSE-MRI is a type of MRI that separates fat and water signals based on the known resonance frequency difference between fat and water. CSE-MRI may be useful for identifying areas of active bone marrow in patients receiving radiopharmaceutical therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, which may help optimize dosing during treatment.