Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss M.D. is Professor of Nuclear Medicine at the German Cancer Research Center. She was the guest speaker at a lecture organized by the MGH Gordon Center. Below is the presentation summary.
Molecular imaging techniques allow a better staging as well as an individualization and optimization of therapy in oncological patients. The availability of new hybrid scanners, like PET-CT and PET-MRI have revolutionized both diagnosis and therapy management and are therefore a unique tool for personalized cancer treatment. Identification of non-responders early in the course of treatment, the choice of the appropriate therapeutic protocol as well as optimal treatment duration are some aspects which can be improved by the use of molecular imaging techniques and can help to avoid side effects and save costs for the health system. Furthermore, therapies with new targeted drugs, like tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immune checkpoint inhibitors require also a tight monitoring for assessment of a therapeutic result and a fast change to another protocol in case of progress.
Standardization of response criteria is another important aspect and a prerequisite for a more routine application of molecular imaging for therapy guidance. Furthermore, the development of new tumor-specific tracers will enable a more accurate assessment of a therapeutic result. Numerous peptides targeting receptoractive tumors are in development with a high potential in a large spectrum of tumors for theranostic approaches, like in neuroendocrine tumors and in prostate cancer.