Imaging the Redox Microenvironment to Predict Tumour Resistance to Therapy

Drug resistance is one of the most pressing issues facing lung cancer patients today. Whilst chemotherapy may work at first, the treatment frequently becomes ineffective due to the cancer developing resistance to these drugs. At present, there is no way for doctors to accurately know when this treatment stops working. If this was known, different treatments can be given that may prolong the patient's life. There is therefore a critical need to develop new ways to identify patients that may benefit from this 'personalised' treatment plan.

Building on extensive, supportive preliminary data, I will develop new medical imaging tests to detect drug resistance in lung cancer. We want to ask the following important questions:

1. Can we use imaging to distinguish drug-sensitive from drug-resistant tumours before any drug is given?

2. Can the same imaging test be used to monitor whether new treatments are working after they are administered?