From LiveScience:
A single compound with dual function -- the ability to deliver a diagnostic and therapeutic agent -- may one day be used to enhance the diagnosis, imaging and treatment of brain tumors, according to findings from Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech.
Glioblastomas are the most common and aggressive brain tumor in humans, with a high rate of relapse. These tumor cells often extend beyond the well-defined tumor margins making it extremely difficult for clinicians and radiologists to visualize with current imaging techniques. Researchers have been investigating enhanced methods of attacking these cells in order to possibly delay or prevent brain tumor relapse.
In a study published in the August issue of the journal Radiology, the research team led by Panos Fatouros, Ph.D., a former professor and chair of the Division of Radiation Physics and Biology in the VCU School of Medicine who retired in 2010, demonstrated that a nanoparticle containing an MRI diagnostic agent can effectively be imaged within the brain tumor and provide radiation therapy in an animal model.
The nanoparticle filled with gadolinium, a sensitive MRI contrast agent for imaging, and coupled with radioactive lutetium 177 to deliver brachytherapy, is known as a theranostic agent -- a single compound capable of delivering simultaneously effective treatment and imaging. The lutetium 177 is attached to the outside of the carbon cage of the nanoparticle....but wait, there's MORE!
