TY - JOUR A1 - Wester, Hans Jürgen A1 - Keller, Ulrich A1 - Schottelius, Margret A1 - Beer, Ambros A1 - Philipp-Abbrederis, Kathrin A1 - Hoffmann, Frauke A1 - Šimeček, Jakub A1 - Gerngross, Carlos A1 - Lassmann, Michael A1 - Herrmann, Ken A1 - Pellegata, Natalia A1 - Rudelius, Martina A1 - Kessler, Horst A1 - Schwaiger, Markus T1 - Disclosing the CXCR4 expression in lymphoproliferative diseases by targeted molecular imaging JF - Theranostics N2 - Chemokine ligand-receptor interactions play a pivotal role in cell attraction and cellular trafficking, both in normal tissue homeostasis and in disease. In cancer, chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) expression is an adverse prognostic factor. Early clinical studies suggest that targeting CXCR4 with suitable high-affinity antagonists might be a novel means for therapy. In addition to the preclinical evaluation of [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor in mice bearing human lymphoma xenografts as an exemplary CXCR4-expressing tumor entity, we report on the first clinical applications of [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor-Positron Emission Tomography as a powerful method for CXCR4 imaging in cancer patients. [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor binds with high affinity and selectivity to human CXCR4 and exhibits a favorable dosimetry. [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor-PET provides images with excellent specificity and contrast. This non-invasive imaging technology for quantitative assessment of CXCR4 expression allows to further elucidate the role of CXCR4/CXCL12 ligand interaction in the pathogenesis and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. KW - acute myeloid leukemia KW - prognostic value KW - therapeutic target KW - chemokine receptor KW - CXCR4 KW - lymphoma KW - in vivo imaging KW - positron emission tomography Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144537 VL - 5 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Philipp-Abbrederis, Kathrin A1 - Herrmann, Ken A1 - Knop, Stefan A1 - Schottelius, Margret A1 - Eiber, Matthias A1 - Lückerath, Katharina A1 - Pietschmann, Elke A1 - Habringer, Stefan A1 - Gerngroß, Carlos A1 - Franke, Katharina A1 - Rudelius, Martina A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Schwamborn, Kristina A1 - Steidle, Sabine A1 - Hartmann, Elena A1 - Rosenwald, Andreas A1 - Kropf, Saskia A1 - Beer, Ambros J A1 - Peschel, Christian A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Buck, Andreas K A1 - Schwaiger, Markus A1 - Götze, Katharina A1 - Wester, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Keller, Ulrich T1 - In vivo molecular imaging of chemokine receptor CXCR4 expression in patients with advanced multiple myeloma JF - EMBO Molecular Medicine N2 - CXCR4 is a G-protein-coupled receptor that mediates recruitment of blood cells toward its ligand SDF-1. In cancer, high CXCR4 expression is frequently associated with tumor dissemination andpoor prognosis. We evaluated the novel CXCR4 probe [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor for invivo mapping of CXCR4 expression density in mice xenografted with human CXCR4-positive MM cell lines and patients with advanced MM by means of positron emission tomography (PET). [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET provided images with excellent specificity and contrast. In 10 of 14 patients with advanced MM [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT scans revealed MM manifestations, whereas only nine of 14 standard [\(^{18}\)F]fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scans were rated visually positive. Assessment of blood counts and standard CD34\(^{+}\) flow cytometry did not reveal significant blood count changes associated with tracer application. Based on these highly encouraging data on clinical PET imaging of CXCR4 expression in a cohort of MM patients, we conclude that [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET opens a broad field for clinical investigations on CXCR4 expression and for CXCR4-directed therapeutic approaches in MM and other diseases. KW - FDG PET/CT KW - cells KW - CXCR4/SDF-1 KW - CXCR4 KW - multiple myeloma KW - positron emission tomography KW - chemokine receptor KW - in vivo imaging KW - malignancies KW - involvement KW - microenvironment KW - survival KW - cancer KW - autologous transplantation KW - bone disease Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148738 VL - 7 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Weich, Alexander A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro A1 - Schmid, Jan S. A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Lassmann, Michael A1 - Wild, Vanessa A1 - Rudelius, Martina A1 - Kudlich, Theodor A1 - Herrmann, Ken A1 - Scheurlen, Michael A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Kropf, Saskia A1 - Wester, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Lapa, Constantin T1 - Imaging of Chemokine Receptor 4 Expression in Neuroendocrine Tumors - a Triple Tracer Comparative Approach JF - Theranostics N2 - C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are overexpressed in gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET). In this study, we aimed to elucidate the feasibility of non-invasive CXCR4 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in GEP-NET patients using [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor in comparison to \(^{68}\)Ga-DOTA-D-Phe-Tyr3-octreotide ([\(^{68}\)Ga]DOTATOC) and \(^{18}\)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG). Twelve patients with histologically proven GEP-NET (3xG1, 4xG2, 5xG3) underwent [\(^{68}\)Ga]DOTATOC, [\(^{18}\)F]FDG, and [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT for staging and planning of the therapeutic management. Scans were analyzed on a patient as well as on a lesion basis and compared to immunohistochemical staining patterns of CXCR4 and somatostatin receptors SSTR2a and SSTR5. [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor visualized tumor lesions in 6/12 subjects, whereas [\(^{18}\)F]FDG revealed sites of disease in 10/12 and [\(^{68}\)Ga]DOTATOC in 11/12 patients, respectively. Regarding sensitivity, SSTR-directed PET was the superior imaging modality in all G1 and G2 NET. CXCR4-directed PET was negative in all G1 NET. In contrast, 50% of G2 and 80% of G3 patients exhibited [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor-positive tumor lesions. Whereas CXCR4 seems to play only a limited role in detecting well-differentiated NET, increasing receptor expression could be non-invasively observed with increasing tumor grade. Thus, [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT might serve as non-invasive read-out for evaluating the possibility of CXCR4-directed endoradiotherapy in advanced dedifferentiated SSTR-negative tumors. KW - SSTR KW - peptide receptor radionuclide therapy KW - neuroendocrine tumor KW - [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor KW - CXCR4 KW - chemokine receptor KW - PET/CT KW - DOTATOC KW - PRRT KW - Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158008 VL - 7 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Kircher, Stefan A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro A1 - Kircher, Malte A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Wester, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Pomper, Martin G. A1 - Rowe, Steven P. A1 - Lapa, Constantin T1 - CXCR4-directed imaging in solid tumors JF - Frontiers in Oncology N2 - Despite histological evidence in various solid tumor entities, available experience with CXCR4-directed diagnostics and endoradiotherapy mainly focuses on hematologic diseases. With the goal of expanding the application of CXCR4 theranostics to solid tumors, we aimed to elucidate the feasibility of CXCR4-targeted imaging in a variety of such neoplasms. Methods: Nineteen patients with newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve solid tumors including pancreatic adenocarcinoma or neuroendocrine tumor, cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer underwent [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT. CXCR4-mediated uptake was assessed both visually and semi-quantitatively by evaluation of maximum standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\)) of both primary tumors and metastases. With physiologic liver uptake as reference, tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) were calculated. [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor findings were further compared to immunohistochemistry and [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT. Results: On [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor PET/CT, 10/19 (52.6%) primary tumors were visually detectable with a median SUVmax of 5.4 (range, 1.7–16.0) and a median TBR of 2.6 (range, 0.8–7.4), respectively. The highest level of radiotracer uptake was identified in a patient with cholangiocarcinoma (SUVmax, 16.0; TBR, 7.4). The relatively low uptake on [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor was also noted in metastases, exhibiting a median SUVmax of 4.5 (range, 2.3–8.8; TBR, 1.7; range, 1.0–4.1). A good correlation between uptake on [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor and histological derived CXCR4 expression was noted (R = 0.62, P < 0.05). In the 3 patients in whom [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT was available, [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor exhibited lower uptake in all lesions. Conclusions: In this cohort of newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve patients with solid malignancies, CXCR4 expression as detected by [\(^{68}\)Ga]Pentixafor-PET/CT and immunohistochemistry was rather moderate. Thus, CXCR4-directed imaging may not play a major role in the management of solid tumors in the majority of patients. KW - CXCR4 KW - [68Ga]Pentixafor KW - theranostics KW - solid tumors KW - chemokine receptor Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-195678 SN - 2234-943X VL - 9 IS - 770 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chifu, Irina A1 - Heinze, Britta A1 - Fuss, Carmina T. A1 - Lang, Katharina A1 - Kroiss, Matthias A1 - Kircher, Stefan A1 - Ronchi, Cristina L. A1 - Altieri, Barbara A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Fassnacht, Martin A1 - Hahner, Stefanie T1 - Impact of the Chemokine Receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7 on Clinical Outcome in Adrenocortical Carcinoma JF - Frontiers in Endocrinology N2 - Chemokine receptors have a negative impact on tumor progression in several human cancers and have therefore been of interest for molecular imaging and targeted therapy. However, their clinical and prognostic significance in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemokine receptor profile in ACC and to analyse its association with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome. A chemokine receptor profile was initially evaluated by quantitative PCR in 4 normal adrenals, 18 ACC samples and human ACC cell line NCI-H295. High expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 in both healthy and malignant adrenal tissue and ACC cells was confirmed. In the next step, we analyzed the expression and cellular localization of CXCR4 and CXCR7 in ACC by immunohistochemistry in 187 and 84 samples, respectively. These results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and survival outcome. We detected strong membrane expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 in 50% of ACC samples. Strong cytoplasmic CXCR4 staining was more frequent among samples derived from metastases compared to primaries (p=0.01) and local recurrences (p=0.04). CXCR4 membrane staining positively correlated with proliferation index Ki67 (r=0.17, p=0.028). CXCR7 membrane staining negatively correlated with Ki67 (r=−0.254, p=0.03) but positively with tumor size (r=0.3, p=0.02). No differences in progression-free or overall survival were observed between patients with strong and weak staining intensities for CXCR4 or CXCR7. Taken together, high expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 in both local tumors and metastases suggests that some ACC patients might benefit from CXCR4/CXCR7-targeted therapy. KW - chemokine receptor KW - prognosis KW - adrenocortical carcinoma KW - CXCR4 KW - CXCR7 Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-216494 SN - 1664-2392 VL - 11 ER -