# Secondary Molecular Imaging (SMI) for head and neck cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $338,740

## Abstract

Project Summary
The current standard of care for evaluation and surveillance of regional and metastatic disease
in advanced stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is 18F-FDG-PET/CT
scan, which is highly sensitive but not specific and as a result identifies a significant number of
indeterminate lesions. Interrogation of these lesions leads to unnecessary procedures,
overdiagnosis/upstaging, patient anxiety, increased cost, and possible treatment delays due to
the need for repeat imaging. To address this, we will investigate whether PET imaging using a
radiolabeled anti-EGFR antibody (89Zr-panitumumab) can be used to detect cancer with high
specificity. We will use 89Zr-panitumumab PET/CT to assess HNSCC patients with
indeterminate findings on 18F-FDG PET/CT and determine the positive predictive value of 89Zr-
pan PET/CT for detection of metastatic disease. The nonspecific nature of 18F-FDG-PET/CT
also limits its usefulness in detecting small primary tumors in patients with oropharyngeal
cancer. This study will assess the effectiveness of 89Zr-pan PET/CT imaging for detecting
unknown primary tumors in patients presenting with an enlarged neck node without identification
of the primary tumor on exam or conventional imaging. Successful detection of the primary
tumor using 89Zr-pan PET/CT would avoid the invasive biopsies typically required to locate the
primary tumor in these patients. The novel imaging modality developed in this study could
overcome the limitations of metabolic 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging, thereby reducing the number
of invasive procedures and avoiding delays in treatment due to indeterminate findings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10802867
- **Project number:** 1R01CA279249-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** EBEN L. ROSENTHAL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $338,740
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-02-01 → 2029-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10802867

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10802867, Secondary Molecular Imaging (SMI) for head and neck cancer (1R01CA279249-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10802867. Licensed CC0.

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