PET and SPECT Imaging of the EGFR Family (RTK Class I) in Oncology

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-04, Vol.22 (7), p.3663
• Main Authors: Rinne, Sara S, Orlova, Anna, Tolmachev, Vladimir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biopsy; Breast cancer; Cell growth; Colorectal cancer; Decision making; EGFR; Epidermal growth factor; Epidermal growth factor receptors; ErbB Receptors - analysis; ErbB Receptors - metabolism; Growth factors; Head & neck cancer; HER1; HER2; HER3; HER4; Heterogeneity; Humans; Ligands; Lung cancer; Medical imaging; Medical Oncology - methods; Metastasis; molecular imaging; Nanobodies; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - metabolism; Oncology; Ovaries; Pancreatic cancer; Patients; PET; Photon emission; Positron emission; Positron emission tomography; Prostate cancer; Proteins; Radioactive Tracers; Radioisotopes; Review; RTK Class I; Single photon emission computed tomography; SPECT; Tomography; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Tracers; Tumors
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073663

The human epidermal growth factor receptor family (EGFR-family, other designations: HER family, RTK Class I) is strongly linked to oncogenic transformation. Its members are frequently overexpressed in cancer and have become attractive targets for cancer therapy. To ensure effective patient care, potential responders to HER-targeted therapy need to be identified. Radionuclide molecular imaging can be a key asset for the detection of overexpression of EGFR-family members. It meets the need for repeatable whole-body assessment of the molecular disease profile, solving problems of heterogeneity and expression alterations over time. Tracer development is a multifactorial process. The optimal tracer design depends on the application and the particular challenges of the molecular target (target expression in tumors, endogenous expression in healthy tissue, accessibility). We have herein summarized the recent preclinical and clinical data on agents for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) imaging of EGFR-family receptors in oncology. Antibody-based tracers are still extensively investigated. However, their dominance starts to be challenged by a number of tracers based on different classes of targeting proteins. Among these, engineered scaffold proteins (ESP) and single domain antibodies (sdAb) show highly encouraging results in clinical studies marking a noticeable trend towards the use of smaller sized agents for HER imaging.