PRiMAL
Research type
Research Study
Full title
F-18 Fluoro-L-Thymidine PET for assessment of treatment response to immunotherapy in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer\n\n
IRAS ID
246860
Contact name
Rohini Sharma
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The purpose of the study is to explore and qualify the use of F-18 Fluoro-L-Thymidine - Positron Emission Tomography (PET) as a method for the assessment of tumour response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICPI). \nA PET scan is a special scan where a very small amount of a radioactive substance called a “tracer” is injected. This tracer is taken up by cells as they divide and grow. This looks like a bright spot on the scan where the level of brightness is related to how active the cancer is.\nPET scans might be more accurate than Computer Tomography (CT) scans in detecting a change in tumour size following ICPI which is the treatment recommended for the management of lung cancer. The standard method of checking to see if the cancer has responded to treatment is to look at the size on CT scans. However, in some patients the cancer will increase in size before shrinking at a later date as the body’s immune cells infiltrate the cancer to try and fight it. Currently, doctors cannot tell if the increase in size of the cancer is due to the body’s reaction to the cancer or if it is because the cancer is growing.\nWe believe that as the tumour cells grow faster than normal cells around them, they will absorb more of the tracer. The PET scanner can detect this and give us a measure of the rate of tumour growth. Imaging will be performed before the start of treatment and following 12 weeks of ICPI. We will compare the images on the PET scan with those on the routine CT scans. \nWe believe that the ICPI will stop cells from growing and therefore less of the tracer will be taken up by the cancer cells. The PET scanner can detect these changes in brightness and therefore give us an idea about how effective ICPI is.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
18/WS/0180
Date of REC Opinion
7 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion