In what they’re calling the first molecular drug-imaging study in children, Dutch researchers have shown that PET/CT can help quantify performance of the cancer drug bevacizumab (trade name Avastin) inside pediatric brain tumors.
The new technique revealed drug uptake and distribution in, specifically, diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. These tend to be aggressive, chemo-resistant and quickly fatal.
The study was published online May 2 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
In a news item posted by JNC publisher SNMMI, study co-author Guus van Dongen, PhD, of VU University in Amsterdam says children with brain tumors and other solid tumors are “particularly likely to benefit from molecular drug imaging, as drugs without therapeutic effect—based on a lack of drug-uptake in the tumor—may cause lifelong side effects.”
He predicts molecular drug imaging “will open avenues for administering the right drug to the right patient at the most appropriate stage of the disease.”
Click below to read the news item, which includes a link to the full study:
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.