New imaging agent detects metastatic prostate cancer cells

Ga-68-BBN PET/CT of a 64-year-old man newly diagnosed with prostate cancer by biopsy. Multiple bone metastasis lesions (arrows) were detected. [Image from Jingjing Zhang, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China]

The first-in-human application of an imaging agent has helped identify early and advanced stages of prostate cancer. The new agent, a PET radiotracer, has also shown to be safe and effective, according to the researchers who developed it.

The agent, gallium-68 (Ga-68), targets gastrin-releasing peptide receptors and integrin αvβ3. When both receptor types are expressed, this allows for tumor contrasting to occur, increasing the number of effective receptors and improving binding affinity.

“Compounds capable of targeting more than one biomarker have the ability of binding to both early and metastatic stages of prostate cancer, creating the possibility for a more prompt and accurate diagnostic profile for both primary and the metastatic tumors,” said Xiaoyuan Chen, lead author on the study and senior investigator at the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine at the U.S. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in Bethesda, Maryland.

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