Imaging Lymph Node Metastases with Oncolytic Herpes Virus and PET
Author Information
Author(s): Brader Peter, Kelly Kaitlyn, Gang Sheng, Shah Jatin P., Wong Richard J., Hricak Hedvig, Blasberg Ronald G., Fong Yuman, Gil Ziv
Primary Institution: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Hypothesis
Can an oncolytic herpes virus be used to improve the detection of lymph node micrometastases in melanoma patients?
Conclusion
The study successfully demonstrated that the oncolytic herpes virus NV1023 can be used to detect melanoma micrometastases in lymph nodes using [18F]FEAU PET imaging.
Supporting Evidence
- NV1023 successfully infected melanoma cells and allowed for imaging of tumor-positive lymph nodes.
- All tumor-positive lymph nodes showed significantly higher radioactivity levels compared to tumor-negative nodes.
- The imaging method was able to detect micrometastases in lymph nodes that were less than 3 mm in size.
Takeaway
Researchers found a new way to see if cancer has spread to lymph nodes by using a special virus and a type of scan, which could help doctors treat patients better.
Methodology
Mice with melanoma received an injection of the oncolytic herpes virus NV1023, followed by imaging with [18F]FEAU PET to detect lymph node metastases.
Limitations
The study was conducted in a murine model, which may not fully replicate human responses.
Participant Demographics
30 C57BL/6J-TyrC-2J/J albino mice were used in the study.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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