18F Radiolabeling of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor anti-cancer drugs for therapeutic outcome studies

Abstract

Epidermal growth factor receptor is a transmembrane protein with tyrosine kinase activity that plays a vital role in the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of normal cells. When mutations in this protein occur, they can cause cancer in which there is currently no cure. Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyroine kinase inhibitor anticancer drugs are available to treat the cancer and allow progression free survival. Not all patients will benefit from this targeted therapy and therefore knowing the mutation status before administering EGFR-TKIs is important. PET imaging can be used to determine level of expression and mutation status instead of repeated invasive biopsies. The problem with these drugs is that resistance is typically seen within 18 months from the start of treatment, therefore this project aims to develop a tracer to be used with positron emission tomography imaging for therapeutic outcome studies to monitor resistance of these drugs in patients. [...]