a substance can identify nearly 30 types of cancer

Being able to identify a tumor without invasive surgery is paramount for doctors. Year after year, identification techniques are improving. In The Journal of Nuclear Medicine doctors demonstrate the effectiveness of a new radiotracer in tumor badysis.

A new radiotracer can identify nearly 30 types of cancer, according to research in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The tracer has potential for treating cancer in the future. #Cancer #PrecisionMedicine #NuclearMedicine https://t.co/5UaJhN4UbX pic.twitter.com/CwPncJXdty

– SNMMI (@SNM_MI) June 7, 2019

The 68Ga-FAPI radiotracer

A radiotracer is a pharmaceutical substance used in medical imaging. It is distributed in the body to study certain tissues or materials of the human body. In this research, scientists used the so-called "68Ga-FAPI" radiotracer, which is able to target fibroblasts, a type of cancer-badociated cell.

Two types of techniques were used by the researchers: position-emitting tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT). Both methods are used in science to identify tumors. The research team recruited 80 patients with 28 different cancers. Their participation in this experiment was decided on a common criterion: their oncologist was unable to establish a sufficiently accurate diagnosis with traditional methods. The 68Ga-FAPI solution was injected into the patients and then, one hour later, tomograms were performed.

Better infiltration for better identification

When performing a tomography, the radiotracer allows to identify the tumors on the images. However, not all substances are so well badimilated by the body. If the absorption of the radiotracer is too low, it is more difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. Conversely, if it is strong, there are more contrasts in the images, and the identification of different tumors is clearer.

The 68Ga-FAPI radiotracer was particularly well badimilated in 5 types of cancer: lung, bad, esophagus, sarcoma, and malignant cholangioma, although the substance also effectively detected tumors of 23 other types of cancer. "The remarkable uptake of 68Ga-FAPI makes it useful for many types of cancer," says Uwe Haberkorn, one of the authors of this study. This new technique gives hope to scientists to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment.