IMAXT : imaging and molecular annotation of xenografts and tumors
Cancer Research UK
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
We propose to develop an entirely new way for scientists and physicians to understand cancer and predict its clinical behaviour. Our integrated approach will produce faithful three-dimensional representations of tumours and their host environments, wherein each cell is identified and molecularly annotated. These models will be presented in an interactive, virtual reality (VR) framework. Investigators will literally be able to walk inside a tumour, visualize the arrangement of tumour cells in relation to each environmental cell type, and perform interactive comparative molecular analyses in real time. We call this project IMAXT, Imaging and Molecular Annotation of Xenografts and Tumours. This approach harnesses our innate pattern recognition capabilities while maintaining the statistical rigour of molecular measurements. We wish not only to provide research tools that allow us to better understand how cancer develops and responds to therapy but also to transform the way that patients are diagnosed and treatments planned. Though this approach will be applicable to nearly all tumour types, we will begin in breast cancer, where both inter- and intra-individual heterogeneity are apparent and inform treatment decisions and prognosis.
2.1 Biological and endogenous factors