SAVAS , CANKURTARAN RECEIVE
NORTHWESTERN FUNDING TO
RESEARCH RADIOTRACER
TREATMENT
From left: Dr. Hatice Savas and Dr. Ceylan Cankurtaran
In Fall 2021, co-PIs Drs. Hatice Savas and Ceylan Cankurtaran received notification of award for a project researching new radiotracers for PET cancer screenings. The project, titled “Multimodality Imaging with advanced multiparametric MRI and molecular imaging to improve treatment planning and evaluate early response assessment in neurooncology : A pilot study for multidisciplinary initiative,” is a collaborative project seeking to improve detection and treatment of Glioblatoma multiforme (GBM) – one of the most common and aggressive types of primary brain tumors – using PETMR. PET-MRI is technology only available in select institutions in the United States. “The technology is capable of performing advanced MRI as well as PET imaging with a variety of radiotracers simultaneously; therefore, it has a unique feature of fused imaging,” Savas and Cankurtaran say.
“To our knowledge,” according to the PIs, “there is no study conducted to date that assesses early treatment response, including the effects of a potentially more precise radiation field planning glioblastoma treatment response, by utilizing multimodality neuroimaging with F-FLT-PET simultaneously acquired with advanced multiparametric MR using the novel PETMR technology.”
Northwestern staff and faculty Tim Houston, Gary Dillehay, Lyndsi Hay, Hatice Savas, Ryan Avery, and Logan Linscheid are part of the team that helped to implement the new PET agent.
“Funding for this project was provided by the Women’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital through The Eleanor Wood- Prince Grant Initiative. The grant was awarded close to NM’s adoption of PYLARIFY PET agent for prostate cancer screening, which was covered by NM’s Physician Forum. "The new agents detect tiny metastases, which totally changes the clinical decision,” Savas points out. “There are new exciting developments coming soon.”
Drs. Ryan Avery, Gary Dillehay, and Hatice Savas, review results of a prostate cancer test using the new PYLARIFY® radiopharmaceutical PET agent.
- Hatice Savas, MD and Abby Hagler
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