Pharmacological ascorbate (AscH−) induces cytotoxicity and oxidative stress selectively in pancreatic cancer cells compared with normal cells. Positron emission tomography (PET) with the thymidine analog 3′-deoxy-3′-(18F) fluorothymidine (FLT) enables noninvasive imaging and quantification of the proliferation fraction of tumors. We hypothesized that the rate of tumor proliferation determined by FLT-PET imaging, would be inversely proportional to tumor susceptibility to pharmacological AscH−-based treatments. Indeed, there was decreased FLT uptake in human pancreatic cancer cells treated with AscH− in vitro, and this effect was abrogated by co-treatment with catalase. In separate experiments, cells were treated with AscH−, ionizing radiation or a combination of both. These studies demonstrated that combined AscH− and radiation treatment resulted in a significant decrease in FLT uptake that directly correlated with decreased clonogenic survival. MicroPET 18F-FLT scans of mice with pre-established tumors demonstrated that AscH− treatment induced radiosensitization compared to radiation treatment alone. These data support testing of pharmacological ascorbate as a radiosensitizer in pancreatic cancer as well as the use of FLT-PET to monitor response to therapy.
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31 December 2015
Fluorine-18-Labeled Thymidine Positron Emission Tomography (FLT-PET) as an Index of Cell Proliferation after Pharmacological Ascorbate-Based Therapy
John A. Cieslak,
Zita A. Sibenaller,
Susan A. Walsh,
Laura L. Boles Ponto,
Juan Du,
John J. Sunderland,
Joseph J. Cullen
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Radiation Research
Vol. 185 • No. 1
January 2016
Vol. 185 • No. 1
January 2016