Predicting immunotherapy response in advanced solid tumors using quantitative imaging features extracted from immune PET scans

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, offering new therapeutic possibilities for patients with advanced solid tumors. However, accurately predicting and monitoring the effectiveness of these therapies remains a significant challenge. Traditional methods, such as immunohistochemistry and biopsies, are invasive, limited in scope, and unable to capture the dynamic interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Non-invasive imaging techniques like immuno-positron emission tomography (immunoPET) have been developed to overcome these limitations by visualizing immune cell activity. Various immunoPET tracers have been successfully developed to target a broad spectrum of molecules expressed by malignant cells and the tumor microenvironment. 

This innovative approach has the potential to assess immune status, monitor therapeutic efficacy, and predict treatment outcomes. Identifying imaging biomarkers through immunoPET has the potential to refine patient selection, enhance clinical decision-making, and optimize the design of clinical trials for immunotherapies. 

Quibim’s QP-Insights^® platform provides a comprehensive solution for analyzing and interpreting immunoPET scans. The platform offers advanced imaging research tools including:

• Automatic lesion detection and segmentation: Efficient delineation of lesions within immunoPET scans.
• Quantitative feature extraction: Obtaining quantitative imaging features including PET uptake parameters and radiomic features.
• Clinical data management integration: Collecting patient data seamlessly within the electronic case report form (eCRF) for correlation with imaging findings.

Quibim is actively developing imaging-based algorithms combining quantitative imaging and clinical data to improve the interpretation of immunoPET exams. These algorithms employ advanced image processing techniques to quantify immunotracer uptake in tumors and surrounding tissues, offering insights into biodistribution and targeting specificity. Such data could inform the clinical development of immunoPET tracers and support their potential as therapeutic tools.

Quantitative analysis of immunoPET scans has demonstrated its potential to predict immunotherapy response in oncological patients. Immune activity patterns, particularly in the tumor microenvironment, are emerging as strong indicators of therapeutic efficacy. This non-invasive approach to treatment monitoring can enable personalized therapy adjustments and improve the ability to identify patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.

Quibim has established strategic partnerships with leading players in the development of immunoPET, offering its expertise in quantifying the binding efficiency of radiotracers to their target molecules, which plays a pivotal role in advancing their development and validation.

These findings highlight the potential of quantitative immunoPET imaging as a valuable companion diagnostic tool, offering a reliable, non-invasive method for assessing immune responses, guiding treatment decisions, and advancing precision oncology.

References:

Wei W, Rosenkrans ZT, Liu J, Huang G, Luo QY, Cai W. ImmunoPET: Concept, Design, and Applications. Chem Rev. 2020 Apr 22;120(8):3787-3851. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00738. Epub 2020 Mar 23. PMID: 32202104; PMCID: PMC7265988.