Fast feedback
The classic method for determining whether a new cancer drug is effective—waiting to see if a tumor shrinks—is becoming antiquated. In the new world of cancer research, scientists can see, sometimes hours after a drug has been administered, if it is shutting down the metabolism of a tumor.
The indispensable tool for this news bulletin-type of feedback is positron emission tomography, or PET. The technology, which exploits the fact that tumor cells have a heartier appetite for glucose (a sugar) than do normal cells, has helped sarcoma researchers quickly determine whether new drugs are working in patients. By shortening the time it takes to identify promising treatments (and abandon less promising ones), PET accelerates the entire process of drug development. Combined PET and CT scanners, of which Dana-Farber has two, make it possible to evaluate the structure and function of tumors in one setting.
"Even when new cancer drugs are effective, it's not unusual for tumors to stay the same size for a period of time, because the drugs stun tumor cells before causing them to die," Annick Van den Abbeele remarks. "Traditional imaging systems such as CT and MRI can show how big a tumor is, but not whether a mass is alive, dead, or dormant. PET and PET/CT scanners such as the ones at Dana-Farber enable us to detect changes in tumor metabolism that precede by weeks or months any change in size."
