SBIR PHASE I TOPIC 396 EVALUATION OF [18F]F-ARAG, A T CELL-SPECIFIC PET AGENT, AS AN IMAGING BIOMARKER PREDICTIVE OF RESPONSE TO IMMUNOTHERAPIES - MOONSHOT

Immunotherapy radically transformed cancer treatmentbut only a fraction of patients with advanced solid tumors achieves a durable response to therapyCompelling evidence points to intratumoral CDT cell infiltration as a critical component of a successful immunotherapyHoweverthere are currently no noninvasive methods capable of evaluating immune contexture prior to or during immunotherapyOur inability to non invasively assess patientsimmune milieu represents a major bottleneck for the development of more effective immunotherapiesTo address the urgent need for a non invasive immunomonitoring methodwe are proposing to investigate a PET agent specific for activated T cellsF F AraGas an imaging biomarker predictive of response to mono and combinatorial immunotherapyIn this preclinical projectwe willuseF F AraG to differentiate between responders and non responders undergoing PDtreatmentuseF F AraG to differentiate between responders and non responders undergoing combinatorial PDpoly IC LC treatment anddefine factors relating toF F AraG scan that are indicative of an adequate immune responseBy using a T cell specific agent we anticipate gaining a better understanding of the complex immunological processes necessary for a successful immunotherapyThis imaging strategy could improve many facets of immunooncologyfrom development of novel combinatorial approaches to patient selection and management