NCT05172310

PET Imaging of Solid Tumors by a Novel Tracer, 68Ga-FAPI

PET Imaging of Tumors in Pancreas, Bile Ducts, Stomach and Ovaries by a Novel Tracer, 68Ga-FAPI-46 = Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 410 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Karolinska University Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Cancers of the pancreas, bile ducts, stomach and ovaries are dismal diseases with most patients being diagnosed in advanced stages leading to a bad prognosis. These cancers can be difficult to diagnose and sometimes impossible to differentiate from underlying benign conditions. Establishing the correct diagnosis of primary cancer lesions and possible spread to other organs in time is pivotal for choosing the right therapy. Routinely applied staging procedures are however not always reliable. The main aim in this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT with a novel radiotracer, FAPI, in the primary diagnosis of cancers in the pancreas, stomach and bile ducts as well as in patients with primary and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Detailed description

Malignant tumors exceeding 1-2 mm in size require formation of a supporting stroma, which includes vascular cells, inflammatory cells and fibroblasts . Several organs in the upper gastro-intestinal tract are known to develop tumors with strong desmoplastic reaction characterized by pervasive growth of tumor stroma. The pancreas, stomach, bile ducts and ovaries are all organs with this property. Within tumor stroma, a subpopulation of fibroblasts called cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are known to be involved in growth, migration and progression of the tumor. The Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) is one of the more prominent stroma markers and was the focus in the development of an agent for imaging and, eventually, even targeted radionuclide therapy. FAP is a type II membrane bound glycoprotein absent or only expressed at insignificant levels, in normal tissues in adults. The FAP inhibitor, FAPI, gets selectively enriched in tissues where its target protein is expressed and there is no or very limited FAPI uptake in all normal organs. This opens new possibilities for the detection of malignant lesions with higher stromal content based on the high contrast positron emission tomography (PET) images obtained with a 68-Gallium (68Ga) radiolabeled - FAPI compound. As cancers in pancreas, stomach, bile ducts and ovaries are all characterized by abundant desmoplasia that constitutes up to 90% of the total tumor volume and contains extracellular matrix, immune cells, vasculature and CAFs, it would be suitable for targeted imaging with FAPI. Preliminary studies show elevated FAPI uptake in many tumors rich in fibroblasts along with low background uptake. The main objective of this prospective study is to improve non-invasive diagnostics of malignancy in tumors of pancreas, stomach, bile ducts and ovaries, all known for a strong desmoplastic reaction by evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT with a novel radiotracer, FAPI in the primary diagnosis and staging of such cancers.

Conditions

• Pancreatic Neoplasms
• Stomach Neoplasms
• Bile Duct Neoplasms
• Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	68Ga-FAPI-46	* \[68Ga\] Ga-FAPI-46 Solution for Injection is manufactured at the Karolinska University Hospital Radiopharmacy facilities, for imaging studies with Positron Emission Tomography (PET). * It is a radiolabelled Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) used for PET of a number of different cancer entities. * Depending on the labelling yield 50 - 370 megabecquerel (MBq) of \[68Ga\] Ga-FAPI-46 Solution for Injection will be administered intravenously 60 minutes prior to whole-body PET image acquisition.
DEVICE	PET/CT	* Combined PET and computed tomography (CT) imaging with 68Ga-FAPI-46 will be performed using the same protocol on a "Biograph 6" PET/CT scanner (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) and "General Electrics" (GE) Discovery 710, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska Huddinge within 2 weeks before surgery. * PET/CT imaging will be performed in dynamic mode at one bed position centered over the primary tumor for 45 minutes. * At 60 minutes post injection, a whole-body PET will be acquired.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-06-02
• Primary completion: 2024-06-30
• Completion: 2029-03-31
• First posted: 2021-12-29
• Last updated: 2021-12-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Sweden