Radiopharmaceuticals in preclinical and clinical development for monitoring of therapy with PET

Abstract

This review article discusses PET agents, other than 18F-FDG, with the potential to monitor the response to therapy before, during, or after therapeutic intervention. This review deals primarily with non- 18F-FDG PET tracers that are in the final stages of preclinical development or in the early stages of clinical application for monitoring the therapeutic response. Four sections related to the nature of the tracers are included: radiotracers of DNA synthesis, such as the 2 most promising agents, the thymidine analogs 3′-18F-fluoro-3′-deoxythymidine and 18F-1-(2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl) thymine; agents for PET imaging of hypoxia within tumors, such as 60/62/64Cu-labeled diacetylbis( N4- methylthiosemicarbazone) and 18F-fluoromisonidazole; amino acids for PET imaging, including the most popular such agent, L-[methyl- 11C]methionine; and agents for the imaging of tumor expression of androgen and estrogen receptors, such as 16β-18F-fluoro- 5α-dihydrotestosterone and 16α-18F-fluoro-17β- estradiol, respectively. Copyright © 2009 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.