A team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Gliwice, in collaboration with the Silesian Medical University in Katowice and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, has developed a novel immuno-PET imaging technique using an antibody labeled with the zirconium isotope Zr-89. It could enable patients with aggressive brain tumors to benefit from breakthrough immune therapies.
The results of a very promising clinical trial involving patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme have been published in the scientific journal Neuro-Oncology.
As specialists point out, glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most malignant brain tumors with an extremely poor prognosis. The average survival time for patients is only 12-18 months, and only 5 percent of patients survive longer than five years.
According to Prof. Gabriela Kramer-Marek, Head of the Division of Radiopharmacy and Preclinical PET Imaging at the Gliwice branch of the Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, quoted in the Institute’s press release, “the research proves that it is possible to image the target of immunotherapy using the radiolabel we have developed. By being able to take a full scan of the patient’s body and image the level of this target, we gain a unique opportunity to predict the body’s response to therapy, monitor the immune system’s response and adjust treatment as needed. This paves the way for a personalized therapy plan based on the unique characteristics of the patient’s tumor, eliminating the need for invasive biopsies before surgery.”
The results of the international clinical trial, in which the National Cancer Institute in Gliwice and the Silesian Medical University participated together with the Institute of Cancer Research in London, were published in late October in the Neuro-Oncology journal (https://academic.oup.com/neuro-oncology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/neuonc/noae190/7848401?searchresult=11). They were also reported by The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, an international scientific and professional organization that promotes the use of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to improve patient health. The study received widespread coverage in the British media (including the Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Telegraph, The Herald, Worcester News and iNews), which called it “revolutionary” and “offering new hope”, hailing it as “a real step forward in the treatment of brain cancer.”
The described study is funded by the Medical Research Agency under the project titled: “Evaluation of the immune response in patients treated with pembrolizumab with newly diagnosed brain glioblastoma multiforme (PIRG),” No. 2019/ABM/01/00062.
