Development of a molecule tracer for precise cancer diagnosis

Positron emission tomography (PET) is the most sensitive imaging technique in cancer diagnosis, making use of radioactively labelled molecules (radio tracers), which move to the tumour or metastases in the patient's body. The radiation generated by this can be measured from outside, leading to three-dimensional images of the metabolism of the tumour cells. FZD scientists developed such a molecule tracer on the basis of an amino acid. Recent results, which were published in „The Journal of Nuclear Medicine“, show that this tracer is better suited for identifying specific tumours than sugar molecules, which are usually used for this.

Molecule structure of the Rossendorf radio tracer

Small animal positron emission tomography image of a mouse