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Aposense(R) Imaging Agent Detects Early Cell Death Induced by Radiation in Patients With Brain Metastases
Data on [18F]-ML-10 PET Tracer Presented at SNM 2009 in Toronto
| Source: Aposense
PETACH-TIKVA, ISRAEL--(Marketwire - June 16, 2009) - An imaging agent used during PET scans
to highlight apoptosis (programmed cell death) appears to help oncologists
detect the effect of radiation treatment on brain metastases (tumors from
elsewhere in the body that have spread to the brain) early in treatment,
according to new data presented today at the 56th Annual Meeting of the
Society of Nuclear Medicine, taking place June 13-17 in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
"Patients with brain metastases have a poor prognosis. The sooner we know
if a tumor is responding the more we can help these patients. These results
have the potential to radically change the way we as oncologists think
about monitoring treatment response," said Aaron Allen, MD, a radiation
oncologist at the Davidoff Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Rabin Medical
Center, in Petach-Tikva, Israel, and the principal investigator on the
trial. "By using this imaging agent known as [18F]-ML-10, we might be able
to immediately measure the rate of programmed cell death induced by
radiation, and evaluate whether treatment is effective early on, whereas
standard imaging only allows us to evaluate treatment two or three months
after it was completed."
[18F]-ML-10 (ML-10) is a PET tracer developed by Aposense Ltd., the leading
developer of agents targeting apoptosis (programmed cell death) for
molecular imaging and therapy.
For the study, physicians administered ML-10 radio-labeled with the
radio-isotope 18-F to ten patients with brain metastases and performed a
PET scan to determine baseline levels of apoptosis, which occurs
spontaneously within the pre-treatment tumor. They administered ML-10 and
performed another PET scan on day nine or 10 to identify changes in
apoptosis as a result of treatment.
Seven patients completed the study and eight tumors were available for
evaluation. All tumors demonstrated at baseline clear images of
pre-treatment apoptosis, with ML-10 uptake increasing over time within the
tumors as compared to the non-target tissue or blood, confirming selective
retention of ML-10 in apoptotic regions of the non-treated tumors, as
expected given the known presence of spontaneous tumor apoptosis.
Following treatment, the signal to background ratio in irradiated tumors
increased over time nearly 2-fold and showed a marked enhancement of the
accumulation rate of ML-10.
"We are pleased to see additional evidence that imaging treatment induced
cell death with ML-10 may provide physicians early indication of the
tumor's response to treatment," said Yoram Ashery, CEO of Aposense. "We
look forward to presenting additional follow-up data on the clinical
response of these patients soon."
About Apoptosis
Apoptosis is a genetically controlled program of cell death, inherent in
any nucleated cell in the body and therefore often referred to also as
"cell suicide." Upon activation, the apoptotic program executes a
well-characterized sequence of events by which the cell undergoes
fragmentation and elimination by macrophages, without damaging the
surrounding tissue. Apoptosis is a universal process of cell death and it
plays a role in most medical disorders, making it one of the important
processes of cell biology. For example, apoptosis has important roles in
oncology, both in the process of tumor growth, as well as in treatment with
most therapies which aim to induce death in cancer cells. Targeting cells
undergoing apoptosis, for imaging or delivering therapy, can therefore have
broad clinical applications.
About Molecular Imaging
Molecular imaging is an emerging field which aims to non-invasively
visualize biological processes in vivo. The ability to image
disease-related biological processes may allow physicians to detect disease
early, characterize the disease better and to personalize treatment by
real-time monitoring of therapeutic effect. Molecular imaging depends on
special molecules (probes) that can selectively target these biological
processes, while carrying an imaging moiety for visualization, such as 18F
or other positron emitting radio-isotopes that can be visualized by PET.
About APOSENSE
Aposense Ltd. is a molecular imaging and drug development company, leading
the translation of the science of apoptosis (programmed cell death) into
clinical practice. Aposense introduces novel imaging and therapeutic agents
based on rationally designed, nano-mechanisms for selective targeting of
cells undergoing apoptosis. Aposense technology is based on a new, patented
class of small molecular probes that selectively identify and accumulate
within apoptotic (dying) cells in vivo. Apoptosis plays a role in many
disease areas, including oncology, neurology and cardiology. Aposense
probes for Molecular Imaging enables real-time visualization of the
biological activity of disease, its onset, change in course and response to
therapy, and to personalize treatment for the individual patient in cancer
and other diseases. Therapeutic applications of Aposense technology in
pre-clinical development include targeted anticancer therapy by using
apoptotic cells in tumors as targets for specific delivery and activation
of cytotoxic agents in the tumor. For additional information, visit
http://www.aposense.com