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Advancing the clinical development of [18F]AMBF3-TATE, a novel imaging probe for neuroendocrine tumours

Francois Benard

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Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Cancer is the leading cause of death in developed countries including Canada. To reduce the high mortality rate from cancer, new diagnostic tools as well as new treatment options are urgently required. Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arise from the neuroendocrine system (including the respiratory and digestive tracts) or from endocrine glands; incidence has been steadily increasing since the early 1970s. Patients can live for many years with NETs without apparent symptoms, and the overall five-year survival after diagnosis is 52-77%. Currently, the only treatment for these tumours is complete surgical removal-- therefore early diagnosis is critical. NETs overexpress a protein called Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2 (SST2). As such, it is a promising marker for diagnosis and treatment of patients with NETs. We have developed novel technology to add specific radioactive flags (referred to as "radiotracers") to probes that bind to SST2, which we can then observe using imaging methods (known as Positron Emission Tomography). Our radiotracer probes bind to SST2 far more effectively that any other currently available imaging agent, and we are able to radiolabel the probe more rapidly and with higher yield, resulting in large quantities of product (suitable for multi-dose batches). Our preliminary work has shown very specific binding of our SST2 probe in cancer models, demonstrating its potential for clinical application for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The goal of this project is to obtain the necessary "pre-clinical" data to advance our radiotracer to early phase clinical studies, and prepare a clinical trial application. This is a unique opportunity to provide proof-of-concept for our radiolabeling methods, and set the stage to build and commercialize a solid portfolio of novel radiolabeled peptides for detecting and treating tumours, with the goal of improving survival / reducing mortality for cancer patients.

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