Assessing cancer therapeutic efficacy in vivo using [2H7]glucose deuterium metabolic imaging

Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 28;11(13):eadr0568. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr0568. Epub 2025 Mar 26.

Abstract

Metabolic imaging produces powerful visual assessments of organ function in vivo. Current techniques can be improved by safely increasing metabolic contrast. The gold standard, 2-[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging, is limited by radioactive exposure and sparse assessment of metabolism beyond glucose uptake and retention. Deuterium magnetic resonance imaging (DMRI) with [6,6-2H2]glucose is nonradioactive, achieves tumor metabolic contrast, but can be improved by enriched contrast from deuterated water (HDO) based imaging. Here, we developed a DMRI protocol employing [2H7]glucose. Imaging 2H-signal and measuring HDO production in tumor-bearing mice detected differential glucose utilization across baseline tumors, tumors treated with vehicle control or anti-glycolytic BRAFi and MEKi therapy, and contralateral healthy tissue. Control tumors generated the most 2H-signal and HDO. To our knowledge this is the first application of DMRI with [2H7]glucose for tumoral treatment monitoring. This approach demonstrates HDO as a marker of tumor glucose utilization and suggests translational capability in humans due to its safety, noninvasiveness, and suitability for serial monitoring.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Deuterium* / chemistry
  • Deuterium* / metabolism
  • Female
  • Glucose* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
  • Mice
  • Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Glucose
  • Deuterium