Visualize Man Molecularly - Molecular Imaging in Clinics.

The Molecular Imaging World Congress WMIC 2016 just concluded at New York last week. 

 Apart from our three presentations at the Congress, I was more excited with the outcome of a Scientific Session I moderated along with Thomas Helbich - "First-in-Man & Clinical Studies in Oncology" Moderator(s): Thomas Helbich (Austria)and Rao Papineni (USA).

Undoubtedly, the scope of Molecular Imaging in clinics remains untapped, yet!  This after a good decade of the hype and hysteria. My take here is that there are quite a number of gate-keepers and fair weather stake holders outside of the Molecular Imaging field that is shaping the entry into clinical arena - which is partly good, for the caution taken, while mostly frustrating for a hardcore researcher.

Four years ago, Sam Gambhir of Stanford concluded in his review (2012) with the following note; "To expedite clinical translation of promising imaging agents and instruments, we need to prove its clinical utility. This should be accomplished by increasing the number of rapid first-in-man efforts and by demonstrating safety and reproducibility through standardization of techniques. Academic groups developing imaging agents need to collaborate with each other to accelerate clinical translation and to perform multicenter international clinical trials. Novel models that involve academia, industry (pharmaceutical and imaging companies), governments, and foundations need to be better explored. Without help from industry, academic groups will never be able to bring enough molecular imaging agents into pilot trials. Intellectual property issues related to novel imaging agents also need to be considered along with business models to show profitability for specific imaging agents and their clinical applications" (Phys Rev 2012).

Key Steps Involved in Molecular Imaging- Bench to Clinics

Readers who would like to know about the path assigned for Molecular Imaging to enter Clinics, the following schema from the above Physiological Review issue will be informative.  For general public, Molecular Imaging (MI) is a broad field  that encompasses and not just limited to a range of image technologies allowing  physicians, surgeons, and researchers to noninvasively visualize physiological processes at a cell and molecular level.
Radiation Therapy and Radiation Research are fields rapidly encompassing MI at different levels.  Here, I feel elated to state that my lab made the early attempts integrating MI in the Radiation Research Field (ICRR Poland 2011). The scope in MI- Radiation Therapy is phenomenal and anticipated to be profound, especially with the advances in radiobiophotonics -  Radiobioluminescence, cerenkov luminescence-God light in likes, a potential in radiation therapy imaging (http://www.cancerjournal.net/text.asp?2015/11/1/241/155113 )

Back to the blog, the researchers who presented in the Scientific Session we chaired at WMIC 2016 were from across the globe -  Singapore, Denmark, USA, and different parts of Northern Europe.  Although mostly proof-of-concept studies, the outcome were indeed promising.  The talk that raised eyebrows include the application of uPAR gallium radioligand tagged peptide, showing the potential to circumvent invasive sentinel node surgeries in breast cancer patients.  With 1 in 8 women developing invasive Breast Cancer - such MI based breakthroughs will be extraordinary during operative procedures with lumpectomy or mastectomy.

Other noteworthy presentations ranged from utilization of optoacoustics, magnetic nanotechnology, fluorescence endoscopy; determination of the lesion dimensions of non-melanoma carcinomas during surgical removal; surveillance endoscopy in Barett esophagus were evaluated and deliberated.

Overall, these Pilot programs across the world are steps in the right direction for Molecular Imaging to reach the pinnacle and contribute to the betterment of human health.  It is however imperative;  Radiologists, Surgeons, Pathologists, radiation Oncologists, Academic & Industry Researchers, Health Agencies, Government Regulatory Bodies, Computational Wizards, and Technologists have to interact and collaborate more stringently for the MI benefits to acquire the Moonshot Moment towards clinics and personalized Medicine.

Papineni Labs are Biomedical Research Labs in Honor of my Father Mr. Papineni Venkateswara Rao.

 

 

http://www.radres.org/blogpost/961725/250704/Cancer-Therapy--Radiobiophotonics-with-Rao-Papineni
 
"Molecular Imaging - Wisdom to See for Maladies to Flee"
                                                          Dr. Rao V. L. Papineni