18F-EF5 PET Imaging as an Early Response Biomarker for the Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug SN30000 Combined with Radiation Treatment in a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Xenograft Model

Hypoxia is a significant therapeutic problem for solid tumors because hypoxic cells are treatment-resistant and more aggressive. Hypoxia-activated prodrugs such as SN30000 use a mechanism of activation in hypoxic cells similar to that of 2-nitroimidazole hypoxia PET tracers. Therefore, we have evaluated the usefulness of 2-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-N-(2,2,3,3,3-18F-pentafluoropropyl)-acetamide (18F-EF5) PET to monitor and predict tumor response to SN30000 plus radiation treatment (RT)