Tumors shrank by at least 30% in five out of 21 pancreatic cancer patients who underwent treatment combining gemcitabine with an agonist CD40 antibody, according to data published in Clinical Cancer Research. The study also found FDG/PET-CT imaging was useful for monitoring patient response. “We’re now using imaging to understand the treatment heterogeneity that one can see in immunotherapy — not all tumors within a patient’s body react the same way, even in the face of powerful treatments, and now we have a way to follow these unique treatment responses in patients in real time,” said researcher Dr. Gregory Beatty. {read more here}

Pioneering PET brain imaging that can detect the build-up of destructive proteins linked to Alzheimer’s has been developed by Japanese scientists. {read more here}

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with lowered levels of a neurotransmitter in a brain region that plays a role in panic and stress, researchers reported.  In a cohort study, positron emission tomography also linked the availability of the molecule, norepinephrine transporter or NET, to one of the five facets of the syndrome, according to Alexander Neumeister, MD, of NYU School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues.  {read more here}

FDG-PET can help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease sooner than usual and lead to better patient outcomes through the use of disease-specific medication.  The finding comes from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who presented the study on September 26 at the Medicinal Biotech Forum in China.  A team led by principal investigator Dr. Daniel Silverman, PhD, professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, examined 63 patients who underwent FDG-PET and neuropsychological testing at baseline. {read more here}