Serac Healthcare, a clinical radiopharmaceutical company that have been working to develop an innovative molecular imaging agent, has announced that an abstract on the 'Detecting Endometriosis expressed integrins using technetium-99m (DETECT) imaging study, has been accepted for oral presentation at the prestigious 16th World Congress on Endometriosis. The congress is taking place from 21-24th May in Sydney Australia.
Dr Tatjana Gibbons will be presenting results from the study which aims to determine the feasibility of detecting endometriosis using 99mTc-maraciclatide and single photon emission computed tomography.
findings from last years congress
Initial findings presented last year have indicated that 99mTc-maraciclatide has potential as a non-invasive test for superficial peritoneal disease which cannot be detected using existing non-invasive imaging techniques; and in July 2024, 99mTc-maraciclatide was granted Fast Track Designation as a diagnostic agent for use with SPECT CT for the visualisation and diagnosis of superficial peritoneal endometriosis in women of 16 years and older.
What is Fast track designation?
Fast track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat (or in our case, diagnose) serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. Criteria include improving the diagnosis of a serious condition where early diagnosis results in an improved outcome.
About the DETECT study
The DETECT study, which is close to completion, is being led by Professor Christian Becker, Co-Director of Endometriosis CaRe Centre alongside Professor Krina Zondervan, Co-Director of the Endometriosis CaRe Centre and Head of Department at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford.
In the DETECT study, women with confirmed or suspected endometriosis who are due to undergo laparoscopy, a key-hole surgical procedure used to assess the organs in the abdomen and pelvis, are imaged with 99mTc-maraciclatide before laparoscopic surgery.
During surgery, tissue samples with identified endometriosis are collected and analysed to determine the presence of αvβ3. The laparoscopic and radiographic findings are compared to determine whether 99mTc-maraciclatide holds potential as a novel, non-invasive method of detecting early-stage endometriosis.
about 99mTc-maraciclatide?
99mTc-maraciclatide is a radio-labelled tracer which binds with high affinity to the cell adhesion protein αvβ3 integrin and images angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) which is known to be critical to the establishment and growth of endometriotic lesions.