TY - JOUR T1 - <sup>99m</sup>Tc-(CO)<sub>3</sub> His-Annexin A5 Micro-SPECT Demonstrates Increased Cell Death by Irinotecan During the Vascular Normalization Window Caused by Bevacizumab JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 1786 LP - 1794 DO - 10.2967/jnumed.111.092650 VL - 52 IS - 11 AU - Christel Vangestel AU - Christophe Van de Wiele AU - Nancy Van Damme AU - Steven Staelens AU - Patrick Pauwels AU - Chris P.M. Reutelingsperger AU - Marc Peeters Y1 - 2011/11/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/52/11/1786.abstract N2 - Colorectal tumors are dependent on angiogenesis for growth, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key mediator of tumor angiogenesis. Antiangiogenic drugs can induce a transient normalization of the tumor vasculature with improved delivery of coadministered chemotherapy. The efficacy of antihuman VEGF antibody (bevacizumab) with or without irinotecan was evaluated in a colorectal cancer xenograft using 99mTc-(CO)3 His-annexin A5. Methods: Colo205-bearing mice were treated with a single dose of bevacizumab (5 mg/kg) during 2, 4, or 6 d. Microvessel density, pericyte coverage (α-smooth-muscle actin immunostaining), collagen-covered tumor vessels (Masson trichrome staining), and tumor hypoxic fraction (pimonidazole staining) were determined at the 3 different time points after treatment with bevacizumab. To investigate the possible synergistic effects of combination therapy with bevacizumab and irinotecan, Colo205-bearing mice were treated with a single dose of bevacizumab 2, 4, or 6 d before administration of a single dose of irinotecan (100 mg/kg) or 0.9% NaCl. The apoptosis-detecting radiotracer 99mTc-(CO)3 His-annexin A5 was injected (18.5 MBq) in mice 12, 24, and 48 h after the start of the irinotecan or NaCl treatment, and micro-SPECT was subsequently performed 3.5 h after injection of the radiotracer. Results were correlated to histologic analysis for apoptosis (caspase-3 activation). Results: Four days after bevacizumab administration, microvessel density decreased significantly, and α-smooth-muscle actin and collagen-covered vessels, compared with control tumors, were increased, suggesting normalization of the tumor vasculature. Hypoxic fraction was slightly reduced 4 d after treatment with bevacizumab. SPECT analyses demonstrated a significant increase in tumoral 99mTc-(CO)3 His-annexin A5 uptake 4 d after bevacizumab treatment and 24 h after irinotecan administration (232.78 ± 24.82 percentage injected dose/tumor weight [g]/body weight [kg], P &lt; 0.05), compared with each monotherapy, indicating a synergistic effect of both therapies. Conclusion: 99mTc-(CO)3 His-annexin A5 micro-SPECT demonstrates increased antitumor activity of irinotecan during the transient vascular normalization period caused by bevacizumab. Our data outline the importance of timing of combined anti-VEGF treatment with chemotherapy. ER -