GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A West Michigan man is making history with a first-of-its-kind development for pancreatic cancer therapy.
New and advanced imaging technology at BAMF Health Cancer Treatment Center could be the first step toward therapy for pancreatic cancer using imaging technology that’s only in two parts of the world, one of which being Grand Rapids.
Research shows that because pancreatic cancer is often difficult to discover until it has spread throughout the body, it remains one of the deadliest cancers in the world.
“I think even the technology that we have today probably wouldn't be available if people like myself didn't sign up for these clinical trials,” Scot VanVleet said.
VanVleet, of Grandville, is the first person in the world to undergo imaging using a novel radiopharmaceutical for pancreatic cancer. BAMF Health in downtown Grand Rapids worked with pharmaceutical company Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd., based in Japan, to develop the imaging agent that’s part of the clinical trial led by BAMF chief medical advisor Dr. Harshad Kulkarni, MD, who has studied theranostics for more than 13 years.
“This imaging trial tells us that the drug remains in the metastasis, which the patient had for a long period of time, and potentially we can develop a therapeutic drug for the treatment,” Kulkarni said. "This is really a step forward in the development of that therapeutic radiopharmaceutical.”
Kulkarni serves as the principal investigator for the trial. The full-body PET/CT scanner by United Imaging allows medical professionals to diagnose and localize where the disease is in a patient using the world’s most advanced total body scanner. It decreases the time needed to complete the scan, allowing for a quicker and more efficient scan.
“This particular scanner being 1.94 meters long and covers the entire length of the patient, so that makes sure two things, that you have scan very quickly because you're not moving the patient or the bed. and because it is covering the patient, you're making sure that the radiation which is being captured for the imaging is captured in a highly sensitive and efficient manner to conduct high-quality scans,” Kulkarni said.
VanVleet said it’s nice knowing he can be part of this landmark moment in the fight against cancer.
“That's kind of an exciting feeling knowing that I could be helping out somebody, myself, or somebody in the future that comes in contact with cancer,” VanVleet said.
Kulkarni said this clinical trial has the potential to develop more options for patients with pancreatic cancer, options that didn’t exist before.
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