Emerging Technology and Best Practices Seminar Series

Friday, November 30, 2007
Optical Imaging for Medicine and Biology: Applications in Cancer Detection
8:00AM-4:00PM, Cocktail Hour 4:00-5:00PM
The Photonics Center
8 Saint Mary's Street, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02215

Host:
Professor Jerome Mertz, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Boston University
College of Engineering
44 Cummington Street
Boston, MA 02215

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Emerging Technology and Best Practices Seminar Series

Speaker: Karen Antman, MD, Dean, BU School of Medicine, Provost, BU Medical Campus

Title: Molecular Imaging for Cancer: Current and Future Clinical Applications

The revolution in imaging over the last 4 decades has transformed cancer diagnosis, treatment and monitoring as well as cancer research.

1822   Endoscopy
1900s X-ray
1946   Ultrasonograms
1970’s Computerised tomography (CT)
1980’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
1990’s Positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT and SPECT

Clinical examples include imaging rather than surgical staging for lymphoma, MRIs rather than myelograms and pneumoencephalograms for cord and brain tumors.  CT guidedbiopsy, endoscopic biopsy or ablation, CT radiation planning, and even laparoscopic surgery are now standards of care.

Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18- fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which characterizes lesions of uncertain significance, is useful for staging or monitoring growth or response to treatment. Because many tumors have accelerated glucose metabolism, they take up larger amounts of glucose and FDG (a glucose analog), compared tonormal cells.

Under evaluation are molecular imaging techniques including imaging biomarkers (in vivo assays predicting chemotherapy response), and “theragnostics” (diagnosis, localization and precisely targeted therapy). 

Nanotechnology should allow more precise imaging; iron-oxide nanoparticles for MR imaging are already under evaluation.Coupling maging methods to reporter genes may even allow assessment of gene function. Photonic methods do not involve ionizing radiation and are cheaper than traditional clinical imaging techniques. Agents may fluoresce or bioluminesce. Quantum dots or other nano-constructed particles fluoresce more intensely than organic dyes and may prove useful.

Bioluminescence, which requires an enzyme (e.g. luciferase) and its ubstrate (luciferin), may not be useful clinically because most methods insert the enzyme’s gene using genetic engineering. Nevertheless the technique has proven valuable in basic research.

Barriers to the commercialization of new imaging methods include the required reliability of a clinical test (sensitivity and specificity) an small markets for specific indications.  Because molecular imaging will increasingly facilitate cancer detection, drug development and individualizedtreatment, the National Cancer Institute is significantly investing in molecular imaging research.

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