TY - JOUR
A1 - Nose, Naoko
A1 - Nogami, Suguru
A1 - Koshino, Kazuhiro
A1 - Chen, Xinyu
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Kashima, Soki
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Fukuchi, Kazuki
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
T1 - [18F]FDG-labelled stem cell PET imaging in different route of administrations and multiple animal species
JF - Scientific Reports
N2 - Stem cell therapy holds great promise for tissue regeneration and cancer treatment, although its efficacy is still inconclusive and requires further understanding and optimization of the procedures. Non-invasive cell tracking can provide an important opportunity to monitor in vivo cell distribution in living subjects. Here, using a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and in vitro 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) direct cell labelling, the feasibility of engrafted stem cell monitoring was tested in multiple animal species. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were incubated with phosphate-buffered saline containing [18F]FDG for in vitro cell radiolabelling. The pre-labelled MSCs were administrated via peripheral vein in a mouse (n=1), rats (n=4), rabbits (n=4) and non-human primates (n=3), via carotid artery in rats (n=4) and non-human primates (n=3), and via intra-myocardial injection in rats (n=5). PET imaging was started 10 min after cell administration using a dedicated small animal PET system for a mouse and rats. A clinical PET system was used for the imaging of rabbits and non-human primates. After MSC administration via peripheral vein, PET imaging revealed intense radiotracer signal from the lung in all tested animal species including mouse, rat, rabbit, and non-human primate, suggesting administrated MSCs were trapped in the lung tissue. Furthermore, the distribution of the PET signal significantly differed based on the route of cell administration. Administration via carotid artery showed the highest activity in the head, and intra-myocardial injection increased signal from the heart. In vitro [18F]FDG MSC pre-labelling for PET imaging is feasible and allows non-invasive visualization of initial cell distribution after different routes of cell administration in multiple animal models. Those results highlight the potential use of that imaging approach for the understanding and optimization of stem cell therapy in translational research.
KW - biomarkers
KW - molecular medicine
KW - stem-cell research
KW - stem cells
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260590
VL - 11
IS - 1
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Derlin, Thorsten
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Sheikbahaei, Sara
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Giesel, Frederik L.
A1 - Behr, Spencer
A1 - Drzezga, Alexander
A1 - Kimura, Hiroyuki
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Bengel, Frank M.
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
T1 - \(^{18}\)F-labeled, PSMA-targeted radiotracers: leveraging the advantages of radiofluorination for prostate cancer molecular imaging
JF - Theranostics
N2 - Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted PET imaging for prostate cancer with \(^{68}\)Ga-labeled compounds has rapidly become adopted as part of routine clinical care in many parts of the world. However, recent years have witnessed the start of a shift from \(^{68}\)Ga- to \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted compounds. The latter imaging agents have several key advantages, which may lay the groundwork for an even more widespread adoption into the clinic. First, facilitated delivery from distant suppliers expands the availability of PET radiopharmaceuticals in smaller hospitals operating a PET center but lacking the patient volume to justify an onsite \(^{68}\)Ge/\(^{68}\)Ga generator. Thus, such an approach meets the increasing demand for PSMA-targeted PET imaging in areas with lower population density and may even lead to cost-savings compared to in-house production. Moreover, \(^{18}\)F-labeled radiotracers have a higher positron yield and lower positron energy, which in turn decreases image noise, improves contrast resolution, and maximizes the likelihood of detecting subtle lesions. In addition, the longer half-life of 110 min allows for improved delayed imaging protocols and flexibility in study design, which may further increase diagnostic accuracy. Moreover, such compounds can be distributed to sites which are not allowed to produce radiotracers on-site due to regulatory issues or to centers without access to a cyclotron. In light of these advantageous characteristics, \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted PET radiotracers may play an important role in both optimizing this transformative imaging modality and making it widely available. We have aimed to provide a concise overview of emerging \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted radiotracers undergoing active clinical development. Given the wide array of available radiotracers, comparative studies are needed to firmly establish the role of the available \(^{18}\)F-labeled compounds in the field of molecular PCa imaging, preferably in different clinical scenarios.
KW - Radiofluorine
KW - prostate-specific membrane antigen
KW - prostate cancer
KW - \(^{18}\)F
KW - PSMA
KW - \(^{68}\)Ga
KW - theranostics
KW - radioligand therapy
Y1 - 2020
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-202559
SN - 1838-7640
VL - 10
IS - 1
ER -
TY - INPR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Andree, Christian
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Pienta, Kenneth J.
T1 - A Voice From the Past: Re-Discovering the Virchow Node with PSMA-targeted \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET Imaging
T2 - Urology - The Gold Journal
N2 - No abstract available.
KW - 18F-DCFPyL
KW - Virchow Node
KW - PSMA-PET
KW - Virchow Node
KW - Positron Emission Tomography
KW - Prostate Cancer
KW - PET
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161103
SN - 0090-4295
N1 - This is the accepted manuscript of Rudolf Werner, Christian Andree, Mehrbod S. Javadi, Constantin Lapa, Andreas K. Buck, Takahiro Higuchi, Martin G. Pomper, Michael A.Gorin, Steven P.Rowe, Kenneth J. Pienta: A Voice From the Past: Re-Discovering the Virchow Node with PSMA-Targeted 18F-DCFPyL PET Imaging. Published in Urology 117(2018), p. 18-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2018.03.030
N1 - Die finale Version dieses Artikels steht unter https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2018.03.030 oder https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164632 open access zur Verfügung.
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Andree, Christian
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Pienta, Kenneth J.
T1 - A Voice From the Past: Re-Discovering the Virchow Node with PSMA-targeted \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET Imaging
JF - Urology - The Gold Journal
N2 - No abstract available.
KW - 18F-DCFPyL
KW - PET
KW - PSMA-PET
KW - Positron Emission Tomography
KW - Prostate Cancer
KW - Virchow Node
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164632
SN - 0090-4295
VL - 117
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver
A1 - Seitz, Anna Katharina
A1 - Kübler, Hubert
A1 - Essler, Markus
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Bundschuh, Ralph A.
T1 - Any decline in prostate-specific antigen levels identifies survivors scheduled for prostate-specific membrane antigen-directed radioligand therapy
JF - The Prostate
N2 - Background
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT) is increasingly incorporated in the therapeutic algorithm of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). We aimed to elucidate the predictive performance of early biochemical response for overall survival (OS).
Materials and Methods
In this bicentric analysis, we included 184 mCRPC patients treated with \(^{177}\)Lu-PSMA RLT. Response to treatment was defined as decrease in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels 8 weeks after the first cycle of RLT (any decline or >50% according to Prostate Cancer Working Group 3). OS of responders and nonresponders was then compared using Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank comparison.
Results
A total of 114/184 patients (62.0%) showed any PSA decline (PSA response >50%, 55/184 [29.9%]). For individuals exhibiting a PSA decline >50%, OS of 19 months was significantly longer relative to nonresponders (13 months; hazard ratio of death [HR] = 0.64, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.44–0.93; p = 0.02). However, the difference was even more pronounced for any PSA decline, with an OS of 19 months in responders, but only 8 months in nonresponders (HR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.25–0.60; p < 0.001).
Conclusions
In mCRPC patients scheduled for RLT, early biochemical response was tightly linked to prolonged survival, irrespective of the magnitude of PSA decline. As such, even in patients with PSA decrease of less than 50%, RLT should be continued.
KW - prostate cancer
KW - theranostics
KW - PSMA‐617
KW - PSA response
KW - PSMA I&T
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318766
VL - 82
IS - 14
SP - 1406
EP - 1412
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Garg, Tushar
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Chung, Hyun Woo
A1 - Khatri, Wajahat
A1 - Pienta, Kenneth J.
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Saad, Elie
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
T1 - Association of true positivity with serum prostate-specific antigen levels and other clinical factors in indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A lesions identified on \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scans
JF - Tomography
N2 - The use of prostate-specific membrane antigen targeted PET imaging for the evaluation of prostate cancer has increased significantly in the last couple of decades. When evaluating these imaging findings based on the PSMA reporting and data system version 1.0, which categorize lesions based on their likelihood of prostate cancer involvement, PSMA-RADS-3A lesions are commonly seen, which are indeterminate for the presence of disease. A total of 28 patients with 171 PSMA-RADS-3A lesions on \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scans from June 2016 to May 2017 who had follow-up cross-sectional imaging over time were included in this study. The PSA levels of patients with PSMA-RADS-3A lesions were categorized into four groups, 0–0.2, 0.2–1, 1–2, and >2 ng/mL. The pre-operative Gleason score of these patients was categorized into two groups, Gleason score < 7 or ≥7. The median age for these patients was 72.5 years (range 59–81). The median PSA value for patients with positive lesions was significantly higher than those with negative lesions (5.8 ng/mL vs. 0.2 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). The lesion positivity rate was significantly higher in patients with PSA > 1 ng/mL (18.2% vs. 81.9%, p < 0.001). On ROC analysis, the highest classification accuracy was seen at PSA ≥ 0.6 ng/mL of 80.12% (95% CI = 73.69–86.16%), and the area under the curve was 71.32% (95% CI = 61.9–80.7%, p < 0.0001). A total of 96.4% (108/112) of patients with positive lesions and 86.4% (51/59) of patients with negative lesions had a PSMA-RADS-4/5 lymph node on the initial \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scan (p = 0.02). In patients with a Gleason score ≥ 7, the presence of positive PSMA-RADS-3A lesions was higher, compared to negative PSMA-RADS-3A lesions (p = 0.049). Higher PSA levels in patients with PSMA-RADS-3A lesions can point towards the presence of true positivity. PSA levels may be considered in deciding whether to call an indeterminate lesion on PSMA PET.
KW - prostate cancer
KW - prostate-specific antigen
KW - PSMA-RADS
KW - \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT
KW - Gleason score
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290510
SN - 2379-139X
VL - 8
IS - 6
SP - 2639
EP - 2647
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Kosmala, Aleksander
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Dreher, Niklas
A1 - Lindner, Thomas
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Weich, Alexander
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - Associations between normal organs and tumor burden in patients imaged with fibroblast activation protein inhibitor-directed positron emission tomography
JF - Cancers
N2 - (1) Background: We aimed to quantitatively investigate [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 uptake in normal organs and to assess a relationship with the extent of FAPI-avid tumor burden. (2) Methods: In this single-center retrospective analysis, thirty-four patients with solid cancers underwent a total of 40 [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT scans. Mean standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{mean}\)) for normal organs were established by placing volumes of interest (VOIs) in the heart, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and bone marrow. Total tumor burden was determined by manual segmentation of tumor lesions with increased uptake. For tumor burden, quantitative assessment included maximum SUV (SUV\(_{max}\)), tumor volume (TV), and fractional tumor activity (FTA = TV × SUV\(_{mean}\)). Associations between uptake in normal organs and tumor burden were investigated by applying Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. (3) Results: Median SUV\(_{mean}\) values were 2.15 in the pancreas (range, 1.05–9.91), 1.42 in the right (range, 0.57–3.06) and 1.41 in the left kidney (range, 0.73–2.97), 1.2 in the heart (range, 0.46–2.59), 0.86 in the spleen (range, 0.55–1.58), 0.65 in the liver (range, 0.31–2.11), and 0.57 in the bone marrow (range, 0.26–0.94). We observed a trend towards significance for uptake in the myocardium and tumor-derived SUV\(_{max}\) (ρ = 0.29, p = 0.07) and TV (ρ = −0.30, p = 0.06). No significant correlation was achieved for any of the other organs: SUV\(_{max}\) (ρ ≤ 0.1, p ≥ 0.42), TV (ρ ≤ 0.11, p ≥ 0.43), and FTA (ρ ≤ 0.14, p ≥ 0.38). In a sub-analysis exclusively investigating patients with high tumor burden, significant correlations of myocardial uptake with tumor SUV\(_{max}\) (ρ = 0.44; p = 0.03) and tumor-derived FTA with liver uptake (ρ = 0.47; p = 0.02) were recorded. (4) Conclusions: In this proof-of-concept study, quantification of [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET showed no significant correlation between normal organs and tumor burden, except for a trend in the myocardium. Those preliminary findings may trigger future studies to determine possible implications for treatment with radioactive FAP-targeted drugs, as higher tumor load or uptake may not lead to decreased doses in the majority of normal organs.
KW - PET
KW - [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-FAPI
KW - theranostics
KW - radioligand therapy
KW - fibroblast activation protein
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-275154
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 14
IS - 11
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Seitz, Anna Katharina
A1 - Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Kübler, Hubert
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - Baseline clinical characteristics predict overall survival in patients undergoing radioligand therapy with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I&T during long-term follow-up
JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
N2 - Background
Radioligand therapy (RLT) with \(^{177}\)Lu-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands is associated with prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). A substantial number of patients, however, are prone to treatment failure. We aimed to determine clinical baseline characteristics to predict OS in patients receiving [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I&T RLT in a long-term follow-up.
Materials and methods
Ninety-two mCRPC patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I&T with a follow-up of at least 18 months were retrospectively identified. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed for various baseline characteristics, including laboratory values, Gleason score, age, prior therapies, and time interval between initial diagnosis and first treatment cycle (interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\), per 12 months). Cutoff values for significant predictors were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. ROC-derived thresholds were then applied to Kaplan–Meier analyses.
Results
Baseline C-reactive protein (CRP; hazard ratio [HR], 1.10, 95% CI 1.02–1.18; P = 0.01), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; HR, 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.11; P = 0.01), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; HR, 1.16, 95% CI 1.06–1.26; P = 0.001), and interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\) (HR, 0.95, 95% CI 0.91–0.99; P = 0.02) were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS. The following respective ROC-based thresholds were determined: CRP, 0.98 mg/dl (area under the curve [AUC], 0.80); LDH, 276.5 U/l (AUC, 0.83); AST, 26.95 U/l (AUC, 0.73); and interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\), 43.5 months (AUC, 0.68; P < 0.01, respectively). Respective Kaplan–Meier analyses demonstrated a significantly longer median OS of patients with lower CRP, lower LDH, and lower AST, as well as prolonged interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\) (P ≤ 0.01, respectively).
Conclusion
In mCRPC patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I&T, baseline CRP, LDH, AST, and time interval until RLT initiation (thereby reflecting a possible indicator for tumor aggressiveness) are independently associated with survival. Our findings are in line with previous findings on [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617, and we believe that these clinical baseline characteristics may support the nuclear medicine specialist to identify long-term survivors.
KW - PSMA
KW - prostate cancer
KW - [177Lu]Lu-PSMA I&T
KW - radioligand therapy
KW - overall survival
KW - prediction
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324573
VL - 49
IS - 12
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Mihatsch, Patrick W.
A1 - Beissert, Matthias
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Bley, Thorsten A.
A1 - Seitz, Anna K.
A1 - Kübler, Hubert
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - Changing threshold-based segmentation has no relevant impact on semi-quantification in the context of structured reporting for PSMA-PET/CT
JF - Cancers
N2 - Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly utilized for staging of men with prostate cancer (PC). To increase interpretive certainty, the standardized PSMA reporting and data system (RADS) has been proposed. Using PSMA-RADS, we characterized lesions in 18 patients imaged with \(^{18}\)F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT for primary staging and determined the stability of semi-quantitative parameters. Six hundred twenty-three lesions were categorized according to PSMA-RADS and manually segmented. In this context, PSMA-RADS-3A (soft-tissue) or -3B (bone) lesions are defined as being indeterminate for the presence of PC. For PMSA-RADS-4 and -5 lesions; however, PC is highly likely or almost certainly present [with further distinction based on absence (PSMA-RADS-4) or presence (PSMA-RADS-5) of correlative findings on CT]. Standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\), SUV\(_{peak}\), SUV\(_{mean}\)) were recorded, and volumetric parameters [PSMA-derived tumor volume (PSMA-TV); total lesion PSMA (TL-PSMA)] were determined using different maximum intensity thresholds (MIT) (40 vs. 45 vs. 50%). SUV\(_{max}\) was significantly higher in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions compared to all other PSMA-RADS categories (p ≤ 0.0322). In particular, the clinically challenging PSMA-RADS-3A lesions showed significantly lower SUV\(_{max}\) and SUV\(_{peak}\) compared to the entire PSMA-RADS-4 or -5 cohort (p < 0.0001), while for PSMA-RADS-3B this only applies when compared to the entire PSMA-RADS-5 cohort (p < 0.0001), but not to the PSMA-RADS-4 cohort (SUV\(_{max}\), p = 0.07; SUV\(_{peak}\), p = 0.08). SUV\(_{mean}\) (p = 0.30) and TL-PSMA (p = 0.16) in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions were not influenced by changing the MIT, while PSMA-TV showed significant differences when comparing 40 vs. 50% MIT (p = 0.0066), which was driven by lymph nodes (p = 0.0239), but not bone lesions (p = 0.15). SUV\(_{max}\) was significantly higher in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions compared to all other PSMA-RADS categories in \(^{18}\)F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT. As such, the latter parameter may assist the interpreting molecular imaging specialist in assigning the correct PSMA-RADS score to sites of disease, thereby increasing diagnostic certainty. In addition, changes of the MIT in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions had no significant impact on SUV\(_{mean}\) and TL-PSMA in contrast to PSMA-TV.
KW - \(^{18}\)F-PSMA-1007
KW - PET/CT
KW - staging
KW - prostate cancer
KW - standardized reporting system
KW - PSMA-RADS
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-254782
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 14
IS - 2
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Toyama, Yoshitaka
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Ruiz-Bedoya, Camilo A.
A1 - Ordonez, Alvaro A.
A1 - Takase, Kei
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Jain, Sanjay K.
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
T1 - Current and future perspectives on functional molecular imaging in nephro-urology: theranostics on the horizon
JF - Theranostics
N2 - In recent years, a paradigm shift from single-photon-emitting radionuclide radiotracers toward positron-emission tomography (PET) radiotracers has occurred in nuclear oncology. Although PET-based molecular imaging of the kidneys is still in its infancy, such a trend has emerged in the field of functional renal radionuclide imaging. Potentially allowing for precise and thorough evaluation of renal radiotracer urodynamics, PET radionuclide imaging has numerous advantages including precise anatomical co-registration with CT images and dynamic three-dimensional imaging capability. In addition, relative to scintigraphic approaches, PET can allow for significantly reduced scan time enabling high-throughput in a busy PET practice and further reduces radiation exposure, which may have a clinical impact in pediatric populations. In recent years, multiple renal PET radiotracers labeled with C-11, Ga-68, and F-18 have been utilized in clinical studies. Beyond providing a precise non-invasive read-out of renal function, such radiotracers may also be used to assess renal inflammation. This manuscript will provide an overview of renal molecular PET imaging and will highlight the transformation of conventional scintigraphy of the kidneys toward novel, high-resolution PET imaging for assessing renal function. In addition, future applications will be introduced, e.g. by transferring the concept of molecular image-guided diagnostics and therapy (theranostics) to the field of nephrology.
KW - glomerular filtration rate
KW - renal
KW - kidney
KW - renal function
KW - positron emission tomography
KW - nephrology
KW - urology
KW - molecular imaging
KW - theranostics
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260090
VL - 11
IS - 12
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Herrmann, Ken
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Hänscheid, Heribert
A1 - Lückerath, Katharina
A1 - Schottelius, Margret
A1 - Kircher, Malte
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Schreder, Martin
A1 - Samnick, Samuel
A1 - Kropf, Saskia
A1 - Knop, Stefan
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Einsele, Hermann
A1 - Wester, Hans-Juergen
A1 - Kortüm, K. Martin
T1 - CXCR4-directed endoradiotherapy induces high response rates in extramedullary relapsed multiple myeloma
JF - Theranostics
N2 - C-X-C-motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a key factor for tumor growth and metastasis in several types of human cancer. We have recently reported promising first-in-man experience with CXCR4-directed endoradiotherapy (ERT) in multiple myeloma (MM).
Eight heavily pretreated MM patients underwent a total of 10 ERT cycles (7 patients with 1 cycle and a single patient with 3 cycles). ERT was administered in combination with chemotherapy and autologous stem cell support. End points were occurrence and timing of adverse events, progression-free and overall survival.
ERT was overall well tolerated without any unexpected acute adverse events or changes in vital signs. With absorbed tumor doses >30-70 Gy in intra- or extramedullary lesions, significant anti-myeloma activity was observed with 1 patient achieving complete remission and 5/8 partial remission. Directly after ERT major infectious complications were seen in one patient who died from sepsis 22 days after ERT, another patient with high tumor burden experienced lethal tumor lysis syndrome. Median progression-free survival was 54 days (range, 13-175), median overall survival was 223 days (range, 13-313). During follow-up (6 patients available), one patient died from infectious complications, 2/8 from disease progression, the remaining 3/8 patients are still alive.
CXCR4-directed ERT was well-tolerated and exerted anti-myeloma activity even at very advanced stage MM with presence of extramedullary disease. Further assessment of this novel treatment option is highly warranted.
KW - medicine
KW - multiple myeloma
KW - PET
KW - CXCR4
KW - theranostics
Y1 - 2017
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-172095
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 - Weich, Alexander
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Scheurlen, Michael
A1 - Wester, Hans-Jürgen
A1 - Meining, Alexander
A1 - Kircher, Stefan
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Kircher, Malte
T1 - CXCR4-Directed PET/CT in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Neuroendocrine Carcinomas
JF - Diagnostics
N2 - We aimed to elucidate the diagnostic potential of the C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4)-directed positron emission tomography (PET) tracer \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor in patients with poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC), relative to the established reference standard \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/computed tomography (CT). In our database, we retrospectively identified 11 treatment-naïve patients with histologically proven NEC, who underwent \(^{18}\)F-FDG and CXCR4-directed PET/CT for staging and therapy planning. The images were analyzed on a per-patient and per-lesion basis and compared to immunohistochemical staining (IHC) of CXCR4 from PET-guided biopsies. \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor visualized tumor lesions in 10/11 subjects, while \(^{18}\)F-FDG revealed sites of disease in all 11 patients. Although weak to moderate CXCR4 expression could be corroborated by IHC in 10/11 cases, \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT detected significantly more tumor lesions (102 vs. 42; total lesions, n = 107; p < 0.001). Semi-quantitative analysis revealed markedly higher 18F-FDG uptake as compared to \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor (maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUV) and tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) of cancerous lesions, SUVmax: 12.8 ± 9.8 vs. 5.2 ± 3.7; SUVmean: 7.4 ± 5.4 vs. 3.1 ± 3.2, p < 0.001; and, TBR 7.2 ± 7.9 vs. 3.4 ± 3.0, p < 0.001). Non-invasive imaging of CXCR4 expression in NEC is inferior to the reference standard \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT.
KW - CXCR4
KW - NET
KW - NEC
KW - 68Ga-Pentixafor
KW - 18F-FDG
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234231
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 11
IS - 4
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Lambertini, Alessandro
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Meybohm, Patrick
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - CXCR4-targeted molecular imaging after severe SARS-Cov-2 infection
JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
N2 - No abstract available.
KW - CXCR4-targeting
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - COVID-19
KW - molecular imaging
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324619
VL - 50
IS - 1
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Lindner, Thomas
A1 - Hänscheid, Heribert
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Hahner, Stefanie
A1 - Fassnacht, Martin
A1 - Einsele, Hermann
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - CXCR4-targeted theranostics in oncology
JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
N2 - A growing body of literature reports on the upregulation of C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in a variety of cancer entities, rendering this receptor as suitable target for molecular imaging and endoradiotherapy in a theranostic setting. For instance, the CXCR4-targeting positron emission tomography (PET) agent [\(^{68}\)Ga]PentixaFor has been proven useful for a comprehensive assessment of the current status quo of solid tumors, including adrenocortical carcinoma or small-cell lung cancer. In addition, [\(^{68}\)Ga]PentixaFor has also provided an excellent readout for hematological malignancies, such as multiple myeloma, marginal zone lymphoma, or mantle cell lymphoma. PET-based quantification of the CXCR4 capacities in vivo allows for selecting candidates that would be suitable for treatment using the theranostic equivalent [\(^{177}\)Lu]/[\(^{90}\)Y]PentixaTher. This CXCR4-directed theranostic concept has been used as a conditioning regimen prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and to achieve sufficient anti-lymphoma/-tumor activity in particular for malignant tissues that are highly sensitive to radiation, such as the hematological system. Increasing the safety margin, pretherapeutic dosimetry is routinely performed to determine the optimal activity to enhance therapeutic efficacy and to reduce off-target adverse events. The present review will provide an overview of current applications for CXCR4-directed molecular imaging and will introduce the CXCR4-targeted theranostic concept for advanced hematological malignancies.
KW - CXCR4
KW - theranostics
KW - C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4
KW - [68Ga]PentixaFor
KW - [177Lu]PentixaTher
KW - [90Y]PentixaTher
KW - endoradiotherapy
KW - adrenocortical carcinoma
KW - multiple myeloma
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324545
VL - 49
IS - 12
ER -
TY - CHAP
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Marcus, Charles
A1 - Sheikhbahaei, Sara
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Solnes, Lilja B.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
T1 - Diagnostic Accuracy of Visual Assessment of an Initial DaT-Scan in Comparison to a Fully Automatic Semiquantitative Method
T2 - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
N2 - No abstract available.
KW - Parkinson-Krankheit
KW - SPECT
KW - Parkinson
KW - Parkinson Disease
KW - DaTscan
KW - Ioflupane
KW - molecular imaging
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-162208
UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/59/supplement_1/626.abstract
SN - 0161-5505
N1 - This research was originally published in JNM. Rudolf A. Werner, Charles Marcus, Sara Sheikhbahaei, Takahiro Higuchi, Lilja B. Solnes, Steven P. Rowe, Andreas K. Buck, Constantin Lapa, Mehrbod S. Javadi. Diagnostic Accuracy of Visual Assessment of an Initial DaT-Scan in Comparison to a Fully Automatic Semiquantitative Method. J Nucl Med. May 1, 2018; vol. 59 no. supplement 1:626. © SNMMI.
VL - 59
IS - Supplement No. 1
SP - 626
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - Editorial: Cardiac Innervation Imaging as a Risk Stratification Tool for Potential Device Therapy Candidates
JF - Journal of Nuclear Cardiology
N2 - As a scintigraphic approach evaluating cardiac nerve integrity, \(^{123}\)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-mIBG) has been recently Food and Drug Administration approved. A great deal of progress has been made by the prospective ADMIRE-HF trial, which primarily demonstrated the association of denervated myocardium assessed by \(^{123}\)I-mIBG and cardiac events. However, apart from risk stratification, myocardial nerve function evaluated by molecular imaging should also be expanded to other clinical contexts, in particular to guide the referring cardiologist in selecting appropriate candidates for specific therapeutic interventions. In the present issue of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, the use of 123I-mIBG for identifying cardiomyopathy patients, which would most likely not benefit from ICD due low risk of arrhythmias, is described. If we aim to deliver on the promise of cardiac innervation imaging as a powerful tool for risk stratification in a manner similar to nuclear oncology, studies such as the one reviewed here may imply an important step to lay the proper groundwork for a more widespread adoption in clinical practice.
KW - SPECT
KW - SPECT
KW - myocardial nerve
KW - 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine
KW - 123I-mIBG
KW - cardiac nerve
KW - ICD
KW - arrhythmia
KW - cardiac innervation imaging
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-168465
UR - https://rdcu.be/970i
SN - 1071-3581
N1 - SharedIt-Link zur Publikation:
https://rdcu.be/970i
N1 - This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12350-018-01475-0
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Khatri, Wajahat
A1 - Chung, Hyun Woo
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Leal, Jeffrey P.
A1 - Pienta, Kenneth J.
A1 - Lodge, Martin A.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
T1 - Effect of point-spread function reconstruction for indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A lesions on PSMA-targeted PET imaging of men with prostate cancer
JF - Diagnostics
N2 - Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) is emerging as an important modality for imaging patients with prostate cancer (PCa). As with any imaging modality, indeterminate findings will arise. The PSMA reporting and data system (PSMA-RADS) version 1.0 codifies indeterminate soft tissue findings with the PSMA-RADS-3A moniker. We investigated the role of point-spread function (PSF) reconstructions on categorization of PSMA-RADS-3A lesions. Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of an institutional review board approved prospective trial. Around 60 min after the administration of 333 MBq (9 mCi) of PSMA-targeted \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL, patients underwent PET/computed tomography (CT) acquisitions from the mid-thighs to the skull vertex. The PET data were reconstructed with and without PSF. Scans were categorized according to PSMA-RADS version 1.0, and all PSMA-RADS-3A lesions on non-PSF images were re-evaluated to determine if any could be re-categorized as PSMA-RADS-4. The maximum standardized uptake values (SUVs) of the lesions, mean SUVs of blood pool, and the ratios of those values were determined. Results: A total of 171 PSMA-RADS-3A lesions were identified in 30 patients for whom both PSF reconstructions and cross-sectional imaging follow-up were available. A total of 13/171 (7.6%) were re-categorized as PSMA-RADS-4 lesions with PSF reconstructions. A total of 112/171 (65.5%) were found on follow-up to be true positive for PCa, with all 13 of the re-categorized lesions being true positive on follow-up. The lesions that were re-categorized trended towards having higher SUV\(_{max}\)-lesion and SUV\(_{max}\)-lesion/SUV\(_{mean}\)-blood-pool metrics, although these relationships were not statistically significant. Conclusions: The use of PSF reconstructions for \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET can allow the appropriate re-categorization of a small number of indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A soft tissue lesions as more definitive PSMA-RADS-4 lesions. The routine use of PSF reconstructions for PSMA-targeted PET may be of value at those sites that utilize this technology.
KW - prostate-specific membrane antigen
KW - reporting and data system
KW - positron emission tomography
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236528
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 11
IS - 4
ER -
TY - INPR
A1 - Yin, Yafu
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Pienta, Kenneth J.
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Gorin, Michael A.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
T1 - Follow-Up of Lesions with Equivocal Radiotracer Uptake on PSMA-Targeted PET in Patients with Prostate Cancer: Predictive Values of the PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMARADS- 3B Categories
T2 - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
N2 - Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has become commonly utilized in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). The PSMA reporting and data system version 1.0 (PSMA-RADS version 1.0) categorizes lesions on the basis of the likelihood of PCa involvement, with PSMA-RADS-3A (soft tissue) and PSMA-RADS-3B (bone) lesions being indeterminate for the presence of disease. We retrospectively reviewed the imaging follow-up of such lesions to determine the rate at which they underwent changes suggestive of underlying PCa.
Methods: PET/CT imaging with \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL was carried out in 110 patients with PCa and lesions were categorized according to PSMA-RADS Version 1.0. 56/110 (50.9%) patients were determined to have indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A or PSMA-RADS-3B lesions and 22/56 (39.3%) patients had adequate follow-up to be included in the analysis. The maximum standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\)) of the lesions were obtained and the ratios of SUV\(_{max}\) of the lesions to SUV\(_{mean}\) of blood pool (SUV\(_{max}\)-lesion/SUV\(_{mean}\)-bloodpool) were calculated. Pre-determined criteria were used to evaluate the PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMA-RADS-3B lesions on follow-up imaging to determine if they demonstrated evidence of underlying malignancy.
Results: A total of 46 lesions in 22 patients were considered indeterminate for PCa (i.e. PSMA-RADS-3A (32 lesions) or PSMA-RADS-3B (14 lesions)) and were evaluable on follow-up imaging. 27/46 (58.7%) lesions demonstrated changes on follow-up imaging consistent with the presence of underlying PCa at baseline. These lesions included 24/32 (75.0%) PSMA-RADS-3A lesions and 3/14 (21.4%) lesions categorized as PSMA-RADS-3B. The ranges of SUVmax and SUVmax-lesion/SUVmean-bloodpool overlapped between those lesions demonstrating changes consistent with malignancy on follow-up imaging and those lesions that remained unchanged on follow-up.
Conclusion: PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMA-RADS-3B lesions are truly indeterminate in that proportions of findings in both categories demonstrate evidence of malignancy on follow-up imaging. Overall, PSMA-RADS-3A lesions are more likely than PSMA-RADS-3B lesions to represent sites of PCa and this information should be taken into when guiding patient therapy.
KW - PSMA-RADS-3B
KW - Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie
KW - prostate-specific membrane antigen
KW - prostate cancer
KW - PSMA-targeted PET
KW - PSMA-RADS-3A
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167594
SN - 0161-5505
N1 - This research was originally published in JNM. Yafu Yin, Rudolf A. Werner, Takahiro Higuchi, Constantin Lapa, Kenneth J. Pienta, Martin G. Pomper, Michael A. Gorin, Steven P. Rowe.
Follow-Up of Lesions with Equivocal Radiotracer Uptake on PSMA-Targeted PET in Patients with Prostate Cancer: Predictive Values of the PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMA-RADS-3B Categories. J Nucl Med. 2019;60:511-516 © SNMMI.
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Nose, Naoko
A1 - Toriumi, Fujio
A1 - Matsusaka, Yohji
A1 - Kuji, Ichiei
A1 - Kazuhiro, Koshino
T1 - Generative adversarial network-created brain SPECTs of cerebral ischemia are indistinguishable to scans from real patients
JF - Scientific reports
N2 - Deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (GAN) allow for creating images from existing databases. We applied a modified light-weight GAN (FastGAN) algorithm to cerebral blood flow SPECTs and aimed to evaluate whether this technology can generate created images close to real patients. Investigating three anatomical levels (cerebellum, CER; basal ganglia, BG; cortex, COR), 551 normal (248 CER, 174 BG, 129 COR) and 387 pathological brain SPECTs using N-isopropyl p-I-123-iodoamphetamine (123I-IMP) were included. For the latter scans, cerebral ischemic disease comprised 291 uni- (66 CER, 116 BG, 109 COR) and 96 bilateral defect patterns (44 BG, 52 COR). Our model was trained using a three-compartment anatomical input (dataset ‘A’; including CER, BG, and COR), while for dataset ‘B’, only one anatomical region (COR) was included. Quantitative analyses provided mean counts (MC) and left/right (LR) hemisphere ratios, which were then compared to quantification from real images. For MC, ‘B’ was significantly different for normal and bilateral defect patterns (P < 0.0001, respectively), but not for unilateral ischemia (P = 0.77). Comparable results were recorded for LR, as normal and ischemia scans were significantly different relative to images acquired from real patients (P ≤ 0.01, respectively). Images provided by ‘A’, however, revealed comparable quantitative results when compared to real images, including normal (P = 0.8) and pathological scans (unilateral, P = 0.99; bilateral, P = 0.68) for MC. For LR, only uni- (P = 0.03), but not normal or bilateral defect scans (P ≥ 0.08) reached significance relative to images of real patients. With a minimum of only three anatomical compartments serving as stimuli, created cerebral SPECTs are indistinguishable to images from real patients. The applied FastGAN algorithm may allow to provide sufficient scan numbers in various clinical scenarios, e.g., for “data-hungry” deep learning technologies or in the context of orphan diseases.
KW - computational biology and bioinformatics
KW - machine learning
KW - neurology
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300757
VL - 12
ER -