New PET imaging technique improves prostate cancer treatment

In the UK alone, more than 10,000 people die from prostate cancer each year

Faced with this huge unmet need, King researchers have designed a simple, fast-to-manufacture kit, "Galliprost," that improves the synthesis of radiotracers in PET imaging

PET imaging relies on radiotracers like gallium-68 to identify cancer cells

The crux of the matter lies in the design of the chelator, which binds gallium-68 to a biomolecular carrier

A suitable design template appeared in the early work of Professor Robert Hider, professor emeritus in the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Based on the chemical similarity between iron and gallium, Prof.

This formulation allows the tracer to be produced in the field, in a way suitable for frontline healthcare workers, without the need for complicated procedures or expensive infrastructure

A sterile kit, Galliprost, was subsequently designed for rapid tracer production under clinical conditions

The screening service was established in 2017 in partnership with Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital

One-third of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients, and more than 50 percent of those with biochemically recurrent disease, had their treatment plan modified after undergoing GalliProst scans, according to data from a Phase 2 clinical study reported in Therapeutics

The use of HOPOs chelators is not limited to prostate cancer