PET scan using F‑AraG to find early heart damage from chemotherapy and immune therapy
Official title: [18F]F-AraG as an imaging biomarker for early diagnosis and monitoring of cardiotoxicity related to doxorubicin and immune check point inhibitor therapy
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11243479 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This uses a PET imaging tracer called F‑AraG to spot early heart injury in people getting doxorubicin or immune checkpoint inhibitor cancer treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | January 21, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $659,348 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL160688-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11243479 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people receiving doxorubicin (an anthracycline) or immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, including those getting both treatments.
✕Less likely to help
People not receiving these cancer therapies or those with advanced, already symptomatic heart failure are unlikely to benefit from this early‑detection imaging approach.
What this research studies
You would have PET scans with a radioactive tracer (F‑AraG) that highlights early signs of heart inflammation or immune activity. Scans would be done around the time you receive doxorubicin or immune checkpoint inhibitors, and researchers would compare the F‑AraG images with standard heart tests and blood markers. The work aims to detect subtle, pre-symptomatic heart damage that current imaging often misses. If the tracer reliably shows early injury, doctors could intervene sooner to reduce long-term heart problems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could let doctors find and treat cancer‑therapy–related heart injury earlier, lowering the risk of long-term heart damage.
How similar studies have gone: Immune‑cell–targeted PET imaging is an emerging approach with promising early results, but using F‑AraG specifically for treatment‑related heart damage is relatively new and not yet widely proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Seo, Youngho — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Seo, Youngho
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.