New PET Probe Could Improve Detection of Primary and Metastatic Melanoma

RESTON, Va. - A new nuclear medicine method for detecting malignant melanoma, one of the most aggressive skin cancers, has been successfully tested for the first time in humans and could improve detection of both primary and metastatic melanoma. The research is featured in the January 2019 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

The National Cancer Institute estimates there were more than 91,000 new U.S. cases of melanoma in 2018 and more than 9,000 deaths from the disease last year. Only 4 percent of patients with metastatic melanoma are alive five years after diagnosis. Therefore, development of specific molecular imaging probes to both detect melanoma at its earliest stages and to detect the metastasis of melanoma is critical for improving the survival of patients.

The new positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, N-(2-(diethylamino)-ethyl)-18F -5-fluoropicolinamide (18F-P3BZA) targets melanin pigment, which exists in most melanoma lesions and can also affect melanoma behavior and, thus, the outcome of radiotherapy. Melanin production shortens overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with metastatic melanoma.

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Source: Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging