THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND CHARACTERIZE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES WHICH CAN BE USED IN THE FORM OF RADIONUCLIDE IMMUNOCONJUGATES FOR IN VIVO IMAGING OF B-CELL LYMPHOMAS.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND CHARACTERIZE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES WHICH CAN BE USED IN THE FORM OF RADIONUCLIDE IMMUNOCONJUGATES FOR IN VIVO IMAGING OF B-CELL LYMPHOMAS. NO MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR HUMAN B-CELL LYMPHOMAS OR LEUKEMIAS CURRENTLY EXIST. SUCH IMMUNOCONJUGATES WOULD BE OF DIAGNOSTIC VALUE FOR NON-HODGKINS B-CELL LYMPHOMA, OF WHICH THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 15,000 NEW CASES PER YEAR IN THE U.S., AND POTENTIALLY REPLACE THE CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES OF CT SCANS, LIVER-SPLEEN SCANS AND LYMPHANGIOGRAMS. IN ADDITION, DATA FROM CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING TRIALS WOULD PROVIDE AN INFORMATION BASE TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF EMPLOYING THE SAME ANTIBODIES IN THE FORM OF DRUG, TOXIN, OR RADIONUCLIDE THERAPEUTIC IMMUNOCONJUGATES WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR TREATMENT OF AN ADDITIONAL 20,000 NEW B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATIENTS PER YEAR. THE PHASE I PROJECT WILL BE COMPRISED OF FOUR COMPONENTS: PRODUCTION OF THE ANTIBODIES, IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIBODY SELECTIVITY PATTERNS, DELINEATION OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH VARIOUS TUMOR CELLS ARE CAPABLE OF BINDING THE ANTIBODIES, IN VIVO ANIMAL STUDIES OF TUMOR CELL LOCALIZATION AND BIODISTRIBUTION. THE LATTER PHASE WOULD EMPLOY NEORX'S PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CHEMICAL COUPLING TO ANTIBODIES OF TECHNETIUM-99M, THE MOST WIDELY EMPLOYED RADIOISOTOPE IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE.