Re: Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc (THLD): Opiniones
Siemens Completes Phase II Trial
for PET Imaging Biomarker
Projections for 2015 estimate more than 15 million new
cancer cases and more than 9 million cancer related
deaths worldwide1
. In order to provide clinicians with
more specific information regarding tumor cells that can
be used in the fight against cancer, Siemens is investing in
imaging biomarkers to help visualize and quantify each
hallmark of cancer. To that end, the Siemens Molecular
Imaging Biomarker Research Group recently completed a
Phase II multicenter clinical trial of its HX4 PET imaging
biomarker, which is designed to detect hypoxia in solid
tumors.
The trial’s primary objective was to test the reproducibility
of HX4’s uptake in tumors by conducting PET/ CT scans of
the same patient on sequential days in a test-retest protocol. The trial enrolled 40 patients with head and neck,
lung, liver, rectal or cervical cancers, who were scheduled
to receive chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination of the two.
Solid-tumor hypoxia develops when the vascular system is
unable to supply the growing tumor mass with adequate
oxygen, leaving portions of the tumor with lower oxygen
levels than healthy tissues. Hypoxic tumors are more resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, resulting in overall poor outcomes.
1
World Health Organization. GLOBOCAN 2008: Cancer incidence
and mortality worldwide.
@global/@imaging/@molecular/documents/download/mdaw/mjew/~edisp/imaging_life_2011-11_final-00201798.pdf" rel="ugc">http://healthcare.siemens.com/siemens_hwem-hwem_ssxa_websites-context-root/wcm/idc/groups/public/@global/@imaging/@molecular/documents/download/mdaw/mjew/~edisp/imaging_life_2011-11_final-00201798.pdf