RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Translation of New Molecular Imaging Approaches to the Clinical Setting: Bridging the Gap to Implementation
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 96S
OP 104S
DO 10.2967/jnumed.115.157974
VO 57
IS Supplement 1
A1 Suzanne C. van Es
A1 Clasina M. Venema
A1 Andor W.J.M. Glaudemans
A1 Marjolijn N. Lub-de Hooge
A1 Sjoerd G. Elias
A1 Ronald Boellaard
A1 Geke A.P. Hospers
A1 Carolina P. Schröder
A1 Elisabeth G.E. de Vries
YR 2016
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/57/Supplement_1/96S.abstract
AB Molecular imaging with PET is a rapidly emerging technique. In breast cancer patients, more than 45 different PET tracers have been or are presently being tested. With a good rationale, after development of the tracer and proven feasibility, it is of interest to evaluate whether there is a potential meaningful role for the tracer in the clinical setting—such as in staging, in the (early) prediction of a treatment response, or in supporting drug choices. So far, only 18F-FDG PET has been incorporated into breast cancer guidelines. For proof of the clinical relevance of tracers, especially for analysis in a multicenter setting, standardization of the technology and access to the novel PET tracer are required. However, resources for PET implementation research are limited. Therefore, next to randomized studies, novel approaches are required for proving the clinical value of PET tracers with the smallest possible number of patients. The aim of this review is to describe the process of the development of PET tracers and the level of evidence needed for the use of these tracers in breast cancer. Several breast cancer trials have been performed with the PET tracers 18F-FDG, 3′-deoxy-3′-18F-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT), and 18F-fluoroestradiol (18F-FES). We studied them to learn lessons for the implementation of novel tracers. After defining the gap between a good rationale for a tracer and implementation in the clinical setting, we propose solutions to fill the gap to try to bring more PET tracers to daily clinical practice.