About 18F-fluciclovine PET in Glioma
18F-Fluciclovine PET is a diagnostic imaging radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging that consists of a synthetic amino acid labeled with the radioisotope F 18, enabling the visualization of the increased amino acid transport that occurs in malignant tumors. 18F-Fluciclovine, under the trade name Axumin®, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PET imaging in men with recurrent prostate cancer. The clinical trial program to support the safety and efficacy, in terms of diagnostic performance, of 18F-fluciclovine PET imaging in adults for the detection and continuing assessment of glioma encompasses four trials conducted in Japan by Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd and two studies in Europe and the United States by Blue Earth Diagnostics. To date, the safety profile of 18F-fluciclovine PET imaging in patients with glioma appears to be consistent with that summarized in the current Axumin prescribing information. 18F-Fluciclovine has been granted Orphan Drug status by both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency for the diagnosis of glioma. The compound was invented at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., with much of the fundamental clinical development work carried out by physicians at Emory University's Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.

About Glioma
Glioma, the most commonly occurring type of primary brain tumor, is a serious and life-threatening condition. Cancer of the brain and central nervous system (CNS) is the twelfth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Glioma accounts for about 25% of all brain tumors, and 80% of all malignant brain tumors. The most aggressive form of glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality with relatively low 5-year survival estimates after diagnosis. Current treatment options for patients with glioma include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Accurate evaluation of the location and extent of a glioma tumor is essential before or during surgery and radiotherapy and in assessing the continuing status of the disease. The detection and assessment of gliomas typically involves magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which may be complemented by metabolic imaging using an appropriate amino acid-based PET radiopharmaceutical as recommended in the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) working group and European Association for Neuro-Oncology (EANO) guidelines.1

Back to HCB News

Molecular Imaging Homepage