Galectin expression detected by 68Ga-galectracer PET as a predictive biomarker of radiotherapy resistance

Noninvasively Deciphering the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment Using Galectin-1 PET to Inform Immunotherapy Responses

“…Considering the role of Gal-1 in fostering an immunosuppressive TME, Gal-1-targeted imaging may hold promise for early monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy. Previous studies showed the potential of Gal-1 imaging for tumor detection (28) and predicting radiotherapy resistance (29). In the present study, a Gal-1specific antibody was radiolabeled with 124 I, and proof-of-concept PET imaging using 124 I-aGal-1 demonstrated its role in monitoring immunotherapy efficacy.…”

“…In addition, 68 Ga-or 18 F-labeled small-molecule-based radiotracers targeting Gal-1 may also hold promise for potential clinical PET imaging because of the favorable in vivo pharmacokinetics. Recently, we developed a galectin-targeted radiotracer, 68 Ga-galectracer, that could detect Gal-1 and Gal-3 expression in patients (29). Further optimization of Gal-1 selectivity and affinity as well as the pharmacokinetics of PET radiotracers targeting Gal-1 may eventually generate radiotracers with great potential in predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy and guide immunotherapeutic combinations in the clinic.…”

Systematic Review: Targeted Molecular Imaging of Angiogenesis and Its Mediators in Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…Of future interest, recent developments in hypoxia imaging in oncology include the testing of galectin tracers. Galectins, particularly galectin-1, -3, and-9, are implicated in angiogenesis [211][212][213][214] and in recent research, 68 Ga-galectracer was evaluated for the PET imaging of tumor hypoxia, displaying superiority over FMISO in the imaging of hypoxia in animal models and allowed for the early prediction of the tumor response to radiotherapy [215]. Thus, 68 Ga-galectracer may also be a candidate for imaging hypoxia in RA.…”

Nanoprobe-based molecular imaging for tumor stratification

“…147 Consequently, Lu et al synthesized a 68 Galabeled galectin-targeting radiotracer ( 68 Ga-galectracer) and found that tumors with high galectin expression showed a significantly lower response to RT as compared to tumors with low galectin expression levels, and a 68 Ga-galectracer in lung cancer patients showed similar results to 18 F-FDG, which helped to achieve the precise stratification of RT patients. 148 Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI has also been utilized to predict the efficacy of tumor chemoradiotherapy and the prognosis by responding to the oxygen levels of patients. 149 For example, Ross et al demonstrated that the spatial suppressiveness of tumors could be identified by oxygen-enhanced MRI.…”