Basically, Dextran-Catechin works to sever the supply of copper in the tumour by recognizing its elevated copper levels, while not taking any action on healthy cells with a normal concentration of this metal. This phenomenon, in turn, significantly reduced the growth of tumours and prolonged the life of animals without affecting blood levels on circulating copper.

“This is a very powerful approach, that can be ascribed to the emergent ‘PET metallomics’ paradigm. Therefore, we envision the possibility of using this imaging method to determine which patients will respond to a specific treatment and allow us to adjust the dose based on a personalised response to treatment,” said Pascali, who with Parmar, is very interested in theranostic applications.


Vittorio said the partnership combined the specific skills of a large group, which included Università della Calabria, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the Australian Centre for Nanomedicine and the University of Sydney, whose combined expertise offered the best hope for overcoming aggressive illnesses such as neuroblastoma in children.

The group also saw the potential use of this approach in understanding drug resistance in some cancers.

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