FLEX TM microPET/SPECT/CT to Support Cancer Research at Harvard Medical School

描述（由申请人提供）：哈佛医学院（HMS）的朗伍德医疗区（LMA）设有贝斯以色列女执事医疗中心（BIDMC），丹娜法伯癌症研究所（DFCI），布里格姆妇女医院（BWH）和波士顿儿童医院（CHB），都在步行距离内。在这些机构中，有数百名Pis致力于现代癌症研究。然而，目前，LMA中没有一台小动物正电子发射断层扫描（PET）扫描仪，唯一的小动物单光子发射计算机断层扫描（SPECT）扫描仪可用性有限，没有计算机断层扫描（CT）能力。没有microPET/CT和microSPECT/CT，现在不可能筛选转基因动物的肿瘤形成和生长，开发复制人类癌症的小鼠模型，或在体内和纵向跟踪同一动物的治疗效果。在这项高端仪器拨款中，我们展示了从Gamma Medica Ideas， Inc.购买的单台三模态微型pet /SPECT/CT （FLEX?）扫描仪，以及BIDMC 110多万美元的承诺，将如何能够满足LMA癌症研究人员的需求。将该仪器放置在BIDMC的中心和易于访问的位置，使NIH能够进行重大投资，这将使多个机构的许多NIH资助的研究项目受益。我们认为这不仅是一个将最好的资源带到我们研究领域的机会，也是一个促进研究人员之间更多互动的机会。特别是，该仪器将服务于Lewis C. Cantley博士（BIDMC）的项目项目资助，他与Ronald A. De Pinho博士（DFCI）合作开发了基于磷脂信号转导的新型转基因癌症模型。目前，这些动物只能在尸检中筛查肿瘤形成，这大大减缓了进展。安装FLEX扫描仪后，dr。Cantley和De Pinho将能够精确定位活体动物体内肿瘤的位置，并追踪它们对治疗的反应。William R. Sellers博士（DFCI）已经开发了几种前列腺癌动物模型，这些模型可能会复制人类的成骨细胞病，并且使用FLEX扫描仪可以对这种表型进行高通量筛选。Bruce R. Zetter博士（CHB）是血管生成和肿瘤细胞归巢方面的专家，他最终将在他的动物模型中找到一种监测新血管形成和量化转移扩散的方法。Yolonda L. Colson博士（BWH）在她对移植过程中宿主细胞耐受性的研究中，将能够在体内跟踪白细胞数天至数周。因此，对人口密集的LMA的这一单笔投资将通过“对生物医学/行为研究产生重大影响并为人类健康的进步做出贡献”来实现PAR-05-124的目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Longwood Medical Area (LMA) of Harvard Medical School (HMS) houses the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Children's Hospital Boston (CHB), all within walking distance. Within these institutions are hundreds of Pis dedicated to modern cancer research. At the present time, however, there isn't a single small animal positron emission tomography (PET) scanner in the LMA, and the only small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanner has limited availability and no computed tomography (CT) capabilities. Without microPET/CT and microSPECT/CT, it is now impossible to screen transgenic animals for tumor formation and growth, to develop mouse models that replicate human cancer, or to follow therapeutic efficacy in vivo and longitudinally in the same animal. In this High-End Instrumentation Grant, we demonstrate how the purchase of a single trimodality microPET/SPECT/CT (FLEX?) scanner from Gamma Medica Ideas, Inc., in conjunction with a $1.1 M+ commitment from the BIDMC, will be able to service the needs of cancer researchers of the LMA. Siting this instrument in a central and easily accessible location at the BIDMC enables the NIH to make a significant investment that will benefit numerous NIH-funded research projects across multiple institutions. We see this as an opportunity not only to bring the best resources to our research area, but also as an opportunity to foster greater interaction among the investigators themselves. In particular, this instrument will service the Program Project Grant of Dr. Lewis C. Cantley (BIDMC), who in collaboration with Dr. Ronald A. De Pinho (DFCI), has developed novel transgenic models of cancer based on phospholipid signal transduction. Currently, these animals can only be screened at necropsy for tumor formation, which has greatly slowed progress. With the installation of the FLEX scanner, Drs. Cantley and De Pinho will be able to pinpoint the location of tumors in living animals, and follow their responses to treatment. Dr. William R. Sellers (DFCI) has developed several animal models of prostate cancer that could potentially replicate the osteoblastosis seen in humans, and with the FLEX scanner, would be able to perform high-throughput screening for this phenotype. Dr. Bruce R. Zetter (CHB), an expert on angiogenesis and tumor cell homing, would finally have a methodology to monitor neovascularization and to quantify metastatic spread in his animal models. Dr. Yolonda L. Colson (BWH), in her studies on host cell tolerance during transplantation, would be able to follow white blood cells over days to weeks in vivo. Thus, this single investment in the densely-populated LMA would fulfill the goal of PAR-05-124 by having a "significant impact on biomedical/behavioral research and contribute to the advancement of human health."