UCLA researchers develop new PET scanning probe that will allowing monitoring of the imm...(take it in glow hot under PET scanning...)
take it in glow "hot" under PET scanning, which operates as a molecular camera that enables visualization of biological processes in living organisms. The work, done in animal models, will be further evaluated in subsequent studies. Eventually, Witte said, researchers hope to be able to monitor the immune systems of patients with FAC and other PET probes.
"This measurement is not invasive - it involves a simple injection of the probe," Witte said. "We could do repetitive scans in a single week to monitor immune response."
Using conventional methods, oncologists are forced to wait weeks and often months to determine whether a patient is responding to a therapy. CT and MRI scans are taken before and during treatment and the size of the tumor is measured to determine response if the tumor is shrinking, the patient is responding. However, patients that don't respond are exposed to potentially toxic therapies for longer than necessary. If the new PET probe can monitor immune response and response to treatment much more quickly within a week or two patients would be spared from therapies that aren't working.
One frustrating aspect for many cancer researchers is understanding the role of the immune response in fighting or, in some cases, possibly stimulating tumor growth, said Dr. Kevin Shannon, the Auerback Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco.
"Dynamic probes like the one developed by UCLA scientists will allow researchers to learn more about the role of the immune response in cancer, how current treatments affect immune cells, and will allow them to quantitatively monitor responses to new modalities such as tumor vaccines," Shannon said. "Probes of this type may also help oncologists more rapidly identify tumors that will respond to certain drugs so treatments can be made more patient-specific."
Witte said the type of multidisciplinary research that led to devel
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| Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Source:Eurekalert |
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