Predicting gemcitabine delivery by (18)F-FAC PET in murine models of pancreatic cancer Journal Article


Authors: Russell, J.; Grkovski, M.; O'Donoghue, I. J.; Kalidindi, T. M.; Pillarsetty, N.; Burnazi, E. M.; Kulick, A.; Bahr, A.; Chang, Q.; LeKaye, H. C.; de Stanchina, E.; Yu, K. H.; Humm, J. L.
Article Title: Predicting gemcitabine delivery by (18)F-FAC PET in murine models of pancreatic cancer
Abstract: 18F-FAC (2'-deoxy-2'-18F-fluoro-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine) has close structural similarity to gemcitabine and thus offers the potential to image drug delivery to tumors. We compared tumor 18F-FAC PET images with 14C-gemcitabine levels, established ex vivo, in 3 mouse models of pancreatic cancer. We further modified tumor gemcitabine levels with injectable PEGylated recombinant human hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) to test whether changes in gemcitabine would be tracked by 18F-FAC. Methods:18F-FAC was synthesized as described previously. Three patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models were grown in the flanks of NSG mice. Mice were given PEGPH20 or vehicle intravenously 24 h before coinjection of 18F-FAC and 14C-gemcitabine. Animals were euthanized and imaged 1 h after tracer administration. Tumor and muscle uptake of both 18F-FAC and 14C-gemcitabine was obtained ex vivo. The efficacy of PEPGPH20 was validated through staining with hyaluronic acid binding protein. Additionally, an organoid culture, initiated from a KPC (Pdx-1 Cre LSL-KrasG12D LSL-p53R172H) tumor, was used to generate orthotopically growing tumors in C57BL/6J mice, and these tumors were then serially transplanted. Animals were injected with PEGPH20 and 14C-gemcitabine as described above to validate increased drug uptake by ex vivo assay. PET/MR images were obtained using a PET insert on a 7-T MR scanner. Animals were imaged immediately before injection with PEGPH20 and again 24 h later. Results: Tumor-to-muscle ratios of 14C-gemcitabine and 18F-FAC correlated well across all PDX models and treatments (R2 = 0.78). There was a significant increase in the tumor PET signal in PEGPH20-treated PDX animals, and this signal was matched in ex vivo counts for 2 of 3 models. In KPC-derived tumors, PEGPH20 raised 14C-gemcitabine levels (tumor-to-muscle ratio of 1.9 vs. 2.4, control vs. treated, P = 0.013). PET/MR 18F-FAC images showed a 12% increase in tumor 18F-FAC uptake after PEGPH20 treatment (P = 0.023). PEGPH20-treated animals uniformly displayed clear reductions in hyaluronic acid staining. Conclusion:18F-FAC PET was shown to be a good surrogate for gemcitabine uptake and, when combined with MR, to successfully determine drug uptake in tumors growing in the pancreas. PEGPH20 had moderate effects on tumor uptake of gemcitabine. © 2021 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
Keywords: gemcitabine; hyaluronic acid; pancreatic cancer; drug delivery; pet/mri; 18f-fac
Journal Title: Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Volume: 62
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0161-5505
Publisher: Society of Nuclear Medicine  
Date Published: 2021-02-01
Start Page: 195
End Page: 200
Language: English
DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.120.246926
PUBMED: 32646874
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC9364871
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 March 2021 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Kenneth Ho-Ming Yu
    164 Yu
  2. Eva M Burnazi
    25 Burnazi
  3. John Laurence Humm
    436 Humm
  4. Hongbiao Carl Lekaye
    32 Lekaye
  5. James Russell
    41 Russell
  6. Qing Chang
    37 Chang
  7. Amanda Kulick
    24 Kulick
  8. Amber Bahr
    5 Bahr