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Pat Price

Publications and source records attributed to Pat Price.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Assessment of proliferation in vivo using 2-[(11)C]thymidine positron emission tomography in advanced intra-abdominal malignancies.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between 2-[(11)C]thymidine positron emission tomography (PET) in vivo-derived parameters and the ex vivo Ki-67 index of proliferation in human tumors. The study comprised 17 treatment-naïve patients with advanced intra-abdominal malignancies. Tumor thymidine kinetics were measured using 2-[(11)C]thymidine PET. Tissue data were analyzed to give the standardized uptake value, the area under the time activity curve, and the fractional retention of thymidine (FRT) obtained by kinetic modeling. For the latter, the contribution of labeled metabolites was accounted for by measuring thymidine metabolites in arterial plasma. To examine the influence of tumor blood flow on the thymidine PET data, a perfusion scan using inhaled [(15)O]CO(2) was carried out in a subset of 11 patients. Biopsies were stained with a MIB1 antibody to obtain a Ki-67 index, and correlations with the PET-derived parameters were investigated. There was no relationship between tumor blood flow and the thymidine PET data, showing that the retention of 2-[(11)C]thymidine in tumors was independent of tumor perfusion. There was no correlation between the Ki-67 index and either standard uptake value or area under the curve. There was a correlation between the Ki-67 index and FRT (r = 0.58; P = 0.01). The correlation between the Ki-67 index and FRT in this dataset was not influenced by the interval between biopsy and imaging (0.1-126 weeks), the origin of the biopsy for Ki-67 staining (primary tumor or metastasis), or whether the biopsy was from an imaged or a nonimaged tumor. This is the first report in human tumors showing that 2-[(11)C]thymidine PET-derived parameters correlate with the level of tumor proliferation measured using Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. The study shows that the in vivo measurement of 2-[(11)C]thymidine in tumors using PET can provide a surrogate marker of proliferation and supports the potential use of the technique in the early assessment of response to antiproliferative cancer treatment.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

The development of [(124)I]iodinated-VG76e: a novel tracer for imaging vascular endothelial growth factor in vivo using positron emission tomography.

The development of anticancer therapies that target the angiogenic process is an area of major growth in oncology. A method of noninvasively measuring tumor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in vivo could provide important efficacy information for VEGF-dependent antiangiogenic agents and the role of VEGF in cancer biology. We have developed a novel radiotracer for use with positron emission tomography (PET) that enables noninvasive imaging of VEGF. This radiotracer comprises an IgG1 monoclonal antibody, known as VG76e, that binds to human VEGF, labeled with a positron-emitting radionuclide, iodine-124 ([(124)I]-SHPP-VG76e). Three radiolabeling strategies were evaluated to synthesize the radiotracer with optimal radiochemical yield, purity, and immunoreactivity. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and VEGF-specific localization of [(124)I]-SHPP-VG76e, two subclones of the HT1080 human fibrosarcoma selected on the basis of differing VEGF production (26.6 and 1/3C, the former producing 2-4-fold more in vitro) were established in culture and grown as solid tumor xenografts in immune-deficient mice. A single i.v. injection of the radiotracer into tumor-bearing mice revealed a time dependent and specific localization of [(125)I]-SHPP-VG76e to the tumor tissue. Three validation studies established the VEGF specificity and potential for use of [(124)I]-SHPP-VG76e in vivo: (a) uptake of [(125)I]-SHPP-VG76e was 1.8-fold higher in HT1080-26.6 compared with HT1080-1/3C tumors (P < 0.05); (b) uptake of [(125)I]-SHPP-VG76e in HT1080-26.6 tumors was specifically blocked by prior administration of excess unlabeled VG76e (P < 0.05); and (c) tumor uptake of the IgG1, [(125)I]-SHPP-CIP5, which has a similar molecular weight as [(125)I]-SHPP-VG76e but does not recognize VEGF, was the same for both HT1080-26.6 and HT1080-1/3C (P > 0.05). Other than tumor localization, [(125)I]-SHPP-VG76e was present in urine and blood and to a lesser extent in heart, lungs, liver, kidney, and spleen. Whole-animal PET imaging studies revealed a high tumor-to-background contrast and also revealed [(124)I]-SHPP-VG76e distributions in the major organs. These studies support further development of [(124)I]-SHPP-VG76e as a radiotracer for measuring tumor levels of VEGF in humans.

Animals↗

Initial observations on the effect of irradiation on the liver-specific uptake of Levovist.

The aim of this pilot study was to see if the biodistribution of the microbubble Levovist (SHU 508 A; Schering AG, Berlin) during its liver specific phase is altered by radiotherapy. The mechanism of this liver-specific phase of this agent remains poorly understood. One way of investigating this is to see what effect radiotherapy has on liver uptake, as both Kupffer cell function and vascular endothelial integrity are selectively damaged by irradiation. The regional liver specific uptake of Levovist was evaluated in eight patients undergoing radiotherapy to the hepatic area. Ultrasound (US) sweeps were made 4 min after Levovist injection using the phase inversion mode (PIM) which is specific for microbubbles. Differences between irradiated and non-irradiated areas were observed in 2/8 subjects completing the study. Both subjective and objective evaluations in these subjects showed a significantly reduced grey scale unit in non-irradiated versus irradiated liver regions (average values 99 vs. 89, P < 0.0045 and 75 vs. 62, P < 0.0001). These findings are somewhat inconclusive, but given the difficulty in defining areas of irradiated and non-irradiated liver, because multiple radiotherapy portals were used in all patients, tentatively suggests a radiotherapy induced effect in at least some patients. The two likely mechanisms would be damage to the Kupffer cells and or the vascular endothelium, although the relative contribution of these is unclear.

Aged↗