Vidi grant laureate aims to break through the boundaries of current diagnostic measures in child cancer

One of this year's Vidi grant laureates from Utrecht University is dr. ir. Jannie Wijnen. In an interview with her, we explored the importance of metabolomics for cancer patients, and what the upcoming research of dr. ir. Wijnen will contribute to better care for these patients.

Metabolomic MRI can give a valuable perspective on cancer that other methods cannot give. This perspective can eventually enable better care for patients. The use of metabolic MRI in cancer research is not a new method, but it is far from perfected. For example, artefacts due to movement of the patients but also the noise produced during the MRI measurement are challenges for which improvements are needed. These and other technological improvements are part of the dr. Wijnen’s upcoming research, in which she focuses on an unconventional patient group. “Most of the new techniques are used in adult care.”

Most of the new techniques are used in adult care.

In her Vidi grant dr. Wijnens focus is on children with cancer. “Most of the new techniques are used in adult care.” dr. Wijnen explains. “Due to ethical reasons the research of child cancer is more difficult, but at some point, we must know if the children also benefit from these new techniques”. The current MRI techniques also fail more in children because of the loud noise the current-used MRI machines produce. The children become scared and restless which results in artefacts in the acquired images. The technological improvements made with help of the Vidi grant will prevent these artifacts and will improve tracking and predicting the efficiency of anti-cancer drugs. “We must know if the children also benefit from these new techniques.”

We must know if the children also benefit from these new techniques.

In order to get here dr. Wijnen will further develop the 7 Tesla MR system, which enables sensitive measurements of the whole body and leads to higher precision and better diagnosis.  Hereafter, large trials are essential to validate the different uses of the 7 Tesla MR system in children. The future implementation in clinical practice, could possibly be achieved within 10 years and could have tremendous benefits for children with cancer.

Currently, dr. Wijnen is working towards this goal with great passion. Looking back, dr. Wijnen never could have imagined the technological progressions they have made within the past decade. “We could have never dreamed that the 7 Tesla MR system was going to be such an effective tool in metabolomic research, yet here we are!”.