(90)Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan with or without low-dose gemcitabine: A phase Ib study in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer after two or more prior therapies.

Background: For patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, there are no approved or established treatments beyond the 2nd line. A Phase Ib study of fractionated radioimmunotherapy was undertaken in this setting, administering (90)Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan (yttrium-90-radiolabelled humanised antibody targeting pancreatic adenocarcinoma mucin) with or without low radiosensitising doses of gemcitabine.

Methods: Fifty-eight patients with three (2-7) median prior treatments were treated on Arm A (N=29, (90)Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan, weekly 6.

Fractionated radioimmunotherapy with (90) Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan and low-dose gemcitabine is active in advanced pancreatic cancer: A phase 1 trial.

Background: It has been demonstrated that the humanized clivatuzumab tetraxetan (hPAM4) antibody targets pancreatic ductal carcinoma selectively. After a trial of radioimmunotherapy that determined the maximum tolerated dose of single-dose yttrium-90-labeled hPAM4 ((90) Y-hPAM4) and produced objective responses in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal carcinoma, the authors studied fractionated radioimmunotherapy combined with low-dose gemcitabine in this disease.

Methods: Thirty-eight previously untreated patients (33 patients with stage IV disease and 5 patients with stage III disease) received gemcitabine 200 mg/m(2) weekly for 4 weeks with (90) Y-hPAM4 given weekly in Weeks 2, 3, and 4 (cycle 1), and the same cycle was repeated in 13 patients (cycles 2-4).

Ensuring safe and quality medication use in nuclear medicine: a collaborative team achieves compliance with medication management standards.

As hospital nuclear medicine departments were established in the 1960s and 1970s, each department developed detailed policies and procedures to meet the specialized and specific handling requirements of radiopharmaceuticals. In many health systems, radiopharmaceuticals are still unique as the only drugs not under the control of the health system pharmacy; however, the clear trend--and now an accreditation requirement--is to merge radiopharmaceutical management with the overall health system medication management system. Accomplishing this can be a challenge for both nuclear medicine and pharmacy because each lacks knowledge of the specifics and needs of the other field.

Imaging of the thyroid in benign and malignant disease.

The thyroid gland was one of the first organs imaged in nuclear medicine, beginning in the 1940s. Thyroid scintigraphy is based on a specific phase or prelude to thyroid hormone synthesis, namely trapping of iodide or iodide analogues (ie, Tc99m pertechnetate), and in the case of radioactive iodine, eventual incorporation into thyroid hormone synthesis within the thyroid follicle. Moreover, thyroid scintigraphy is a reflection of the functional state of the gland, as well as the physiological state of any structure (ie, nodule) within the gland.

Postoperative management of thyroid carcinoma.

Survival from differentiated thyroid carcinoma is generally good, but postoperative management plays an important role in minimizing the likelihood of disease recurrence. Postoperative management is generally performed by endocrinologists and nuclear medicine physicians, who exploit thyroid cells' inherent iodineavidity and sensitivity to hormonal manipulation in a unique cancer management paradigm. Endocrinologists manage thyroid hormone replacement/thyroid stimulating hormone suppression and coordinate surveillance.

Blood volume analysis: a new technique and new clinical interest reinvigorate a classic study.

Blood volume studies using the indicator dilution technique and radioactive tracers have been performed in nuclear medicine departments for over 50 y. A nuclear medicine study is the gold standard for blood volume measurement, but the classic dual-isotope blood volume study is time-consuming and can be prone to technical errors. Moreover, a lack of normal values and a rubric for interpretation made volume status measurement of limited interest to most clinicians other than some hematologists.

Evolving role of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the management of esophageal carcinoma.

Positron emission tomography (PTE) and PET/CT imaging with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose are metabolic imaging modalities that depict tissues based on their level of glucose uptake. PET provides useful information in the primary staging of disease. PET performance in detecting locoregional nodal metastases is limited; however, it is the most accurate single noninvasive modality for detecting distant metastases.