UCLA researchers led by Professors Jennifer Murphy and David Nathanson have developed 18F-labeled brain-penetrant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as PET tracers specifically designed for imaging glioblastoma (GBM), a highly aggressive brain cancer characterized by aberrant EGFR signaling. The 18F-labeled brain-penetrant EGFR TKI PET tracers represent a scientifically robust platform that addresses challenges in neuro-oncology imaging by providing selective, noninvasive, and quantitative visualization of EGFR activity in glioblastoma. This technology is poised to significantly impact both clinical diagnostics and the drug development pipeline for targeted GBM therapies.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS (from the inventors only): Narayanam MK, Tsang JE, Xu S, Nathanson DA, Murphy JM. 18F-Labeled brain-penetrant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors for PET imaging of glioblastoma. Chem Sci. 2023 Nov 9;14(47):13825-13831. doi: 10.1039/d3sc04424f. PMID: 38075671; PMCID: PMC10699577.
KEYWORDS: Molecular Imaging, Targeted Cancer Therapeutics, PET Tracer Development, Neuroimaging, CNS tumors, oncology, radiopharmaceuticals, neuropharmacolog