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Investigational Scans ([18F]FET and [18F]FMISO PET/MRIs) for Disease Assessment in Patients with High Grade Glioma Undergoing Radiation Therapy

Trial Status: active

This early phase I trial studies the safety and feasibility of two investigational imaging drugs ([18F]FET and [18F]FMISO) used with positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) scans in detecting residual high grade glioma patients undergoing radiation therapy. [18F]FET is an amino acid with a radioactive portion called fluorine-18 (18F). This drug enters normal and tumor cells through system L amino acid transport which recognizes amino acids normally present in the blood. This radioactive investigational drug allows doctors to take pictures of the brain using PET and to measure levels of amino acid transport. Many studies have shown [18F]FET is effective for imaging high grade glioma, but its usefulness soon after completing of radiation therapy is not known. [18F]FMISO is a small molecule that gets trapped in tumor tissue with very low oxygen levels (hypoxia) with a radioactive portion called (18F). [18F]FMISO enters normal and tumors cells but is trapped in cells with hypoxia. This radioactive investigational drug allows doctors to take pictures of the brain using PET and to detect tumor tissue with hypoxia. Several studies have shown [18F]FMISO is effective for detecting hypoxia in high grade glioma, but its usefulness for detecting glioma after therapy is not known. PET is a type of imaging test that uses a small amount of radioactive drug injected into a vein to see how cells or tissues are functioning. PET can also be combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the inside of the body. [18F]FET and [18F]FMISO PET/MRIs may help scientists detect active glioma sooner after therapy and to tell the difference between treatment effects and active brain tumors.