This program continues to study molecular differences between tumors and normal tissues and how they change during treatment. Advances in the molecular biology of cancer are leading to new treatment options but have not yielded an anticipated improvement in prognosis for patients with solid tumors. One problem has been the limited ability to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of new therapies in clinical trials. We respond to this challenge by using molecular imaging to evaluate response to treatments. There are two promising roles for imaging: 1) Early assessment of response. 2) Better selection of therapy. Molecular imaging before therapy can be used to predict the aggressiveness of disease and help select the best therapy. Imaging during or after therapy will be a sensitive measure of tumor response. When therapy changes a critical tumor function, it can be continued with confidence; when therapy fails to impair a critical tumor function, it is unlikely to be effective but may still damage normal tissues. Each project tests our hypothesis that molecular imaging can assess and predict cancer response to treatment. Imaging will be used to characterize tumors of the brain, head & neck, breast and thyroid as well as lymphoma, sarcoma and pheochromocytoma. Molecular imaging provides a versatile tool with excellent spatial and molecular resolution. FDG is valuable, but other radiopharmaceuticals can characterize tumors with much more specificity. Our studies use PET to evaluate aspects of tumor growth and factors that limit the response of a tumor to therapy. PET provides information from the whole body and will be used to assess regional heterogeneity. Short-lived isotopes permit studies with different tracers in a single imaging session, enabling quantitative assessment of multiple tumor properties. When appropriate, molecular pathology complements molecular imaging, with images used to direct the site of biopsy. New assays are used to test statistical correlations between imaging and in vitro analysis of tissue samples so that each use of a radiopharmaceutical is based on careful validation in humans. The projects use similar PET data analysis and statistical tests that are convenient but realistic. This research program is strongly interdisciplinary, drawing together experts in imaging with experts in clinical and laboratory oncology. The group that started this research remains largely intact and several new investigators have been added. Our goals are ambitious and the methods complex, but our collective effort will make a significant and valuable contribution to oncology.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01CA042045-21
Application #
7390737
Study Section
Subcommittee G - Education (NCI)
Program Officer
Menkens, Anne E
Project Start
1998-05-12
Project End
2011-08-31
Budget Start
2008-03-21
Budget End
2011-08-31
Support Year
21
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$1,978,463
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Radiation-Diagnostic/Oncology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
605799469
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
Lindner, Jonathan R; Link, Jeanne (2018) Molecular Imaging in Drug Discovery and Development. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 11:e005355
O'Sullivan, Finbarr; O'Sullivan, Janet N; Huang, Jian et al. (2018) Assessment of a statistical AIF extraction method for dynamic PET studies with 15O water and 18F fluorodeoxyglucose in locally advanced breast cancer patients. J Med Imaging (Bellingham) 5:011010
Linden, Hannah M; Peterson, Lanell M; Fowler, Amy M (2018) Clinical Potential of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Imaging. PET Clin 13:415-422
Link, Jeanne M; Krohn, Kenneth A; O'Hara, Matthew J (2017) A simple thick target for production of89Zr using an 11MeV cyclotron. Appl Radiat Isot 122:211-214
Wolsztynski, E; O'Sullivan, F; O'Sullivan, J et al. (2017) Statistical assessment of treatment response in a cancer patient based on pre-therapy and post-therapy FDG-PET scans. Stat Med 36:1172-1200
Kurland, Brenda F; Peterson, Lanell M; Lee, Jean H et al. (2017) Estrogen Receptor Binding (18F-FES PET) and Glycolytic Activity (18F-FDG PET) Predict Progression-Free Survival on Endocrine Therapy in Patients with ER+ Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 23:407-415
Wangerin, Kristen A; Muzi, Mark; Peterson, Lanell M et al. (2017) A virtual clinical trial comparing static versus dynamic PET imaging in measuring response to breast cancer therapy. Phys Med Biol 62:3639-3655
Fowler, Amy M; Clark, Amy S; Katzenellenbogen, John A et al. (2016) Imaging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets: Steroid Receptors in Breast Cancer. J Nucl Med 57 Suppl 1:75S-80S
Muzi, Mark; Krohn, Kenneth A (2016) Imaging Hypoxia with ยน?F-Fluoromisonidazole: Challenges in Moving to a More Complicated Analysis. J Nucl Med 57:497-8
Currin, Erin; Peterson, Lanell M; Schubert, Erin K et al. (2016) Temporal Heterogeneity of Estrogen Receptor Expression in Bone-Dominant Breast Cancer: 18F-Fluoroestradiol PET Imaging Shows Return of ER Expression. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 14:144-7

Showing the most recent 10 out of 196 publications