# Free Radical Metabolism and Imaging

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2024 · $35,511

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
During the past two decades a significant body of evidence has shown that metabolic oxidation/reduction
reactions represent a significant underlying mechanism contributing to promotion and progression of
malignancy, as well as a therapeutic target for selectively sensitizing cancer cells to therapeutic interventions
and protecting normal tissues from conventional cytotoxic therapies. Evolving in parallel has been the
recognition that advanced medical imaging techniques, measuring metabolic changes in cancer versus normal
tissues before and during therapy show great promise in allowing non-invasive quantitation and monitoring of
fundamental differences in cancer cell metabolism to improve cancer therapy. The overarching hypothesis in
the Free Radical Metabolism and Imaging (FRMI) program is that cancer cells exist in a chronic state of
metabolic oxidative stress that represents a significant underlying mechanism contributing to promotion and
progression of malignancy as well as a therapeutic target for sensitizing tumor cells to therapy as well as
protecting against normal tissue injury. Furthermore, functional imaging techniques measuring metabolic
changes in tumors versus normal tissues have shown great promise as predictors and biomarkers that can be
used to improve cancer therapy. The diverse membership of this unique program includes 33 full members and
five associate members representing two colleges and nine departments. These investigators work together to
take full advantage of the convergence of the science in these two related disciplines for developing a
mechanism based biochemical rationale for new image-guided cancer therapies and diagnostic/prognostic
tools. FRMI members are highly collaborative. During the last period of support, 83% of a total of 235 cancer
relevant publications were collaborative including 75 (32%) intraprogrammatic, 83 (35%) interprogrammatic
and 127 (54%) interinstitutional publications including 17 in high impact (Impact Factor >10) journals. Program
member cancer research was supported by $3.7 million of direct peer-reviewed funding including $2.1 million
of NCI funding in the last year of CCSG support. Productive intra/interprogrammatic and interinstitutional
groups are leading advances in the development of pharmacological ascorbate as an adjuvant to cancer
therapy supported by a new NCI P01, superoxide dismutase mimetics for protection of normal tissues
toxicities, and peptide-targeted, radionuclide-based theragnostic treatments.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10814282
- **Project number:** 5P30CA086862-24
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Douglas Robert Spitz
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $35,511
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2000-07-14 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10814282

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10814282, Free Radical Metabolism and Imaging (5P30CA086862-24). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10814282. Licensed CC0.

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