PET "immunostains"

[pathstudent]

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Out of curiosity do you know if anyone is developing radiological markers that can identify and classify metastatic disease. For example in pathology we have a zillion immunostains which are used for prognostic and diagnostic purposes. If someone has a history or lung and breast cancer and later develops a new lump we can usually sort out whether it was lung or breast or a new primary based on a panel of immunostains.

If radiologists could do this with PET and had markers relatively specific for particular tissues, it would seriously change medicine and change pathology and add a ton of new revenue for radiologists. Any of you academic radiologists heard anything about this?

 

[KeratinPearls]

Out of curiosity do you know if anyone is developing radiological markers that can identify and classify metastatic disease. For example in pathology we have a zillion immunostains which are used for prognostic and diagnostic purposes. If someone has a history or lung and breast cancer and later develops a new lump we can usually sort out whether it was lung or breast or a new primary based on a panel of immunostains.

If radiologists could do this with PET and had markers relatively specific for particular tissues, it would seriously change medicine and change pathology and add a ton of new revenue for radiologists. Any of you academic radiologists heard anything about this?

That's the big new thing. Radiology and pathology merging. The integration of molecular imaging and diagnostics.

 

[spongioform]

Does anyone have recommendations to a medical student about whether to enter pathology or radiology if one is interested in pathoradiology?

 

[canjosh]

Out of curiosity do you know if anyone is developing radiological markers that can identify and classify metastatic disease. For example in pathology we have a zillion immunostains which are used for prognostic and diagnostic purposes. If someone has a history or lung and breast cancer and later develops a new lump we can usually sort out whether it was lung or breast or a new primary based on a panel of immunostains.

If radiologists could do this with PET and had markers relatively specific for particular tissues, it would seriously change medicine and change pathology and add a ton of new revenue for radiologists. Any of you academic radiologists heard anything about this?

Something like this?? http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=13479

 

[Thaitanium]

Does anyone have recommendations to a medical student about whether to enter pathology or radiology if one is interested in pathoradiology?

You can do both residencies. That will take you 9 years? You will be a seriously dope diagnostician. You will be reading imaging studies and slides all at the same time. When you look at an imaging study you will say this is either X, Y or Z, and then you get the slide and then you'll tell the clinician, oh it's X. How dope is that?

Seriously, both are different. Do a rotation and pick which one you love more.

 

[Raygun77]

Out of curiosity do you know if anyone is developing radiological markers that can identify and classify metastatic disease. For example in pathology we have a zillion immunostains which are used for prognostic and diagnostic purposes. If someone has a history or lung and breast cancer and later develops a new lump we can usually sort out whether it was lung or breast or a new primary based on a panel of immunostains.

If radiologists could do this with PET and had markers relatively specific for particular tissues, it would seriously change medicine and change pathology and add a ton of new revenue for radiologists. Any of you academic radiologists heard anything about this?

The thing is though, with these immunostains you literally take a chunk of the tissue out and douse them in vitro. Hence it is a stain. PET radiopharmaceuticals have to be delivered exogenously via the blood stream- so pharmacokinetics come into play in a large way. That's why pet radiolabels are attached to biological analogues- things like glucose, tyrosine, dopamine, etc. Things that are used by the body. The same wouldn't be true for immunostains that light up keratin/receptors etc- they simply wouldn't be delivered to the tissue like a biological analogue is.

Hope this helps

 

[MW2ADDICT]

Immuno "tags" are up and coming for sure. Within radiology, Nuc Med docs are the people who will deal with these because they are labeled with radioactive material (they also read PET/CT and SPECT).

You could do a fellowship it that.

What will be cool is when they use the immno tags to deliver therapeutic radiation doses... I smell a turf battle between NucMed and RadOnc.....

 

[pathstudent]

The thing is though, with these immunostains you literally take a chunk of the tissue out and douse them in vitro. Hence it is a stain. PET radiopharmaceuticals have to be delivered exogenously via the blood stream- so pharmacokinetics come into play in a large way. That's why pet radiolabels are attached to biological analogues- things like glucose, tyrosine, dopamine, etc. Things that are used by the body. The same wouldn't be true for immunostains that light up keratin/receptors etc- they simply wouldn't be delivered to the tissue like a biological analogue is.

Hope this helps

yeah that does. it can't be quite the same at least in the near future.