Novel PET and CT imaging in lung fibrosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The identification of systemic integrin activation in idiopathic and systemic sclerosis pulmonary fibrosis using 18F-Fluciclatide positron emission tomography and CT perfusion
IRAS ID
154426
Contact name
Nikhil Hirani
Contact email
Research summary
Progressive lung scarring (or 'fibrosis') is a feature of numerous disease and leads to breathlessness and often death. There is a pressing need to identify the mechanisms that cause lung scarring and to discover simple non-invasive tests that can ‘measure’ scarring as it occurs. Lung fibrosis can occur in the context of other scarring diseases e.g. systemic sclerosis or may occur without obvious association e.g. idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) experience progressive scarring of several organs including skin, lungs, pulmonary arteries and kidneys. It is speculated that there is a ‘common-pathway’ that leads to scarring in lungs and other organs, which eventually fail to function. Studies have identified a pattern of mediators, termed the ‘integrin pathway’, that when malfunctioning lead to scarring. Until recently there were no means of measuring integrin expression in lungs or other tissues other than by performing a biopsy. There is now a licensed reagent that can measure the expression of a specific integrin in any part of the body by positron emission tomography (PET), a type of x-ray typically used for studying cancers. We aim to combine this with a novel CT scanning technology that measures blood flow through the lungs to develop a unique non-invasive measure of scarring activity and lung dysfunction.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
14/WA/1111
Date of REC Opinion
27 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion