Imaging Biomarker Has Potential to Detect Proliferative Activity of Cancer Cells

A phase I clinical trial has been initiated to evaluate (F-18) 3'-fluoro-3'-deoxythymidine (FLT), a molecular imaging biomarker that has shown promise in monitoring the proliferation of cancer cells, which could help clinicians quickly determine the effectiveness of cancer therapies.

Siemens Medical Solutions (Erlangen, Germany) announced that it has been granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) Exemption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct the trial.

To widen the scope of FLT research, Siemens will support the FLT phase I clinical trial that will be conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY, USA), with whom Siemens has signed a research collaboration agreement focused on the codevelopment of imaging biomarkers that will be used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.

Through these collaborative efforts, Siemens intends not only to make FLT more readily accessible to research and academic institutions for additional examination, but also to continue research into new more target specific imaging biomarkers for PET.

"This research further demonstrates Siemens' commitment to advancing molecular medicine by working with the world's leading medical institutions to develop targeted imaging agents that will pave the way for more personalized therapies,” said Michael Reitermann, president, Molecular Imaging Division, Siemens Medical Solutions. "We look forward to working with our colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering to enable leading-edge FLT research that we anticipate will bring us closer to realizing its potential in the earlier assessment of cancer therapies.”

The significance of FLT is that it may be able to allow researchers and physicians to detect the rate of the proliferation of cancerous cells through a molecular imaging technique like PET-CT (positron emission tomography-computed tomography), by enabling visualization of key steps in the replication of DNA, which precedes cell division. By enabling the imaging of the biologic processes within cancer cells, FLT could help clinicians to personalize cancer therapies by more quickly assessing cancer therapies, avoiding ineffective therapies, and determining the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient.

Molecular imaging biomarkers--imaging agents that characterize biologic processes and diseases--enable the biologic processes of disease to be identified and understood. Once imaging biomarkers bind to the diseased cells or tissues, they cause them to "light up” when scanned using PET-CT, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or SPECT-CT. Results may help physicians determine customized therapies for patients by pinpointing the active pathways in the disease progression. This may help in the development of new therapies, and enable clinicians to non-invasively evaluate therapeutic responses and quickly adjust therapeutic approaches to arrive at optimum outcomes.


Related Links:
Siemens Medical Solutions
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center