BME PhD Defense announcement for Nathaniel J. Smith (G. Hutchins and C. Goergen, co-advisors)

Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 7:45am.

Title: Quantitative Modeling of PET Images in the Diagnostic Assessment of Brain and Prostate Cancer

Date: Friday, March 10

Time: 7:45 a.m.

Location: MJIS 2001 or https://iu.zoom.us/j/83716868886

Advisory Committee: Gary D. Hutchins, Co-Chair; Craig J. Goergen, Co-Chair; Lauren Christopher; Sherry L. Harbin; Jason G. Parker

Abstract:

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique that supports the quantification of physiologic processes within the human body. PET radiotracers are developed with site-specific binding properties or as metabolic analogs, enabling specific tissue properties to be investigated with minimal disturbance to the underlying physiology. Clinically, the radiotracer standard uptake value is a semiquantitative metric that quantifies radiotracer accumulation over a single time interval. However, compartmental modeling of dynamic PET acquisitions provides additional insights into tissue perfusion, binding avidity, and intracellular tracer trapping. Dynamic PET image analysis techniques are first applied to ¹⁸F-fluoroethyltyrosine (FET) PET imaging of high-grade glioma and brain metastasis patients. Standard-of-care MRI is often equivocal for discriminating post-treatment imaging aberrations from disease progression. However, temporal ¹⁸F-FET efflux (tumor-to-brain ratio slope, intercept) was found to be a highly accurate (95%) metric for identifying cases of disease progression. In a second application, dynamic PET image analysis techniques are applied to ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET imaging for primary prostate cancer patients. In the presurgical planning for prostatectomy, nerve-sparing or nerve-excising surgery is elected based on the dual consideration of metastatic cancer risks and surgically-induced side effects. Even with advanced multiparametric MRI techniques, prostate cancer is often not effectively localized, resulting in over- or under-treatment. Dynamic ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET semiquantitative and kinetic parameters improve the localization of prostate cancer, reducing the prevalence of poor surgical outcomes. Overall, the application of dynamic PET imaging techniques supports improved clinical outcomes and enhanced clinician confidence for treatment modifications.