Unlocking Metabolic Vulnerabilities
Cancer cells constantly adapt the way they produce and use energy to fuel growth, evade the immune system, and survive treatment. MCW Cancer Center investigators study these metabolic changes to uncover the biological processes that sustain tumors.
Researchers investigate the metabolic ecosystem surrounding tumors, examining how cancer cells compete for nutrients, communicate with neighboring cells, and alter their environment to support disease progression.
Through the Translational Metabolomics Shared Resource, scientists combine metabolomics, bioenergetics, and molecular imaging to visualize these processes in unprecedented detail, revealing metabolic signatures that cannot be detected through conventional approaches.
These insights are uncovering new biomarkers, explaining treatment response, and revealing metabolic vulnerabilities that can be targeted with future therapies.
PET-MR Imaging
By combining high-resolution anatomical detail with molecular data, PET-MR (Positron Emission Tomography–Magnetic Resonance) imaging changes how we understand tumor biology. Guided by specialized radiotracers, this technology allows researchers and clinicians to look beyond static shapes to observe how a tumor actively functions. By mapping these cellular vulnerabilities, medical teams can evaluate treatment effectiveness far sooner than standard imaging allows.
Translational Metabolomics Shared Resource supports preclinical research and patient monitoring in clinical trials
MCW Cancer Center members have access to the Translational Metabolomics Shared Resource which combines expertise in mass spectrometry and bioenergetics, preclinical imaging, and clinical trial response assessment using artificial intelligence.
Black Patients with Bladder Cancer May Benefit from Mitochondria-Targeted Drugs
MCW Cancer Center scientists hope to obtain an investigational new drug status from the FDA and initiate clinical trials targeting mitochondrial metabolism that include patients with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.