HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Technique Tracks Cancer-Killing Cells

Lani · 11-23-2008, 10:47 AM

It is a nanomolecular sized iron compound fused to herceptin. It can detect even single cell mets of her2+ amplified cancers ie nanomets in mice as even the tiniest accumulation of the iron-based molecule can be picked up by MRI, which is based on magnetism.

The problem is it has to be tried in people and noone knows whether it will be toxic to the kidney or other organ system/blood system. Getting clinical trials of such an agent going I guess are hard, as I heard him lecture on this more than 3 years ago and haven't heard more since.

Wouldn't it be lovely to know whether any deposits of cancer exist anywhere in the body (except perhaps the brain, as herceptin doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier) with just an infusion of contrast and an MRI?

11-23-2008, 10:47 AM	#2
Lani Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4,778	The same researcher, Sam Gambhir has a new "contrast" agent It is a nanomolecular sized iron compound fused to herceptin. It can detect even single cell mets of her2+ amplified cancers ie nanomets in mice as even the tiniest accumulation of the iron-based molecule can be picked up by MRI, which is based on magnetism. The problem is it has to be tried in people and noone knows whether it will be toxic to the kidney or other organ system/blood system. Getting clinical trials of such an agent going I guess are hard, as I heard him lecture on this more than 3 years ago and haven't heard more since. Wouldn't it be lovely to know whether any deposits of cancer exist anywhere in the body (except perhaps the brain, as herceptin doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier) with just an infusion of contrast and an MRI?