FDG-PET - quantitative measurements in ovarian cancer
For patients with recurrent ovarian cancer, there is an urgent need to identify more effective therapies. An imaging tool that can robustly identify early response would be of value both in the clinical setting and as a biomarker for drug development.
The FDG-PET study in ovarian cancer with Dr Andrea Rockall and colleagues from the Cambridge ECMC was able to demonstrate good repeatability of quantitive FDG-PET/ CT across two sites. An accurate baseline means that this technology could be used to monitor metabolic and/or volumetric response to treatment in platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.
The detection of changes in tumor glucose metabolism, tumor diameter, or tumor volume within a few weeks of commencing treatment has the potential to inform stratification of patient management. Validation of imaging biomarkers is critical for effective and reliable use in clinical trials. Test–retest data for measurements of 2[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) uptake, tumor diameter, and tumor volume are essential to determine repeatability coefficients, thereby allowing the confident use of these techniques. This is the first time repeatability of these baseline measures has been tested in ovarian cancer.
The team in Cambridge are now seeking to include novel PET tracers in early phase trials including 15O-water and 18F-MISO in the VDF study of bevacizumab for patients with kidney cancer.