Cerianna is an FDA approved molecular imaging agent that has the ability to tell the doctor the receptor status of all the tumors—essentially creating a “whole-body “picture of estrogen receptor (ER) positive lesions in recurrent or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The ability of physicians to more precisely “visualize” the disease may be instructive in determining the most appropriate course of treatment. Cerianna is administered as a single intravenous injection, and then imaged using a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan. Cerianna is used as an adjunct to biopsy.

An expert panel of leading healthcare oncology providers and researchers have recently identified a number of potential clinical use cases for Cerianna including: detecting ER+ lesions when considering endocrine therapy for patients at initial diagnosis with MBC or after progression of metastatic disease; and assessing ER status of lesions that are difficult or dangerous to biopsy, when other imaging tests are uncertain or suspicious. or biopsy is non-diagnostic.

 Breast Cancer is Personal. Shouldn’t your Diagnostic Imaging Test Be as Well? Listen to the episode for all the most latest clinical updates on Cerianna and check out our episode notes for more information. Our thanks to GE Healthcare for their support of this podcast.

Additional Resources

SHARE Webinar from October 19th with Hannah Linden, MD and Gary Ulaner, MD

https://www.sharecancersupport.org/the-impact-of-targeted-estrogen-receptor-er-imaging-on-breast-cancer-patients-video/

CERIANNA Website – includes the map below showing currently available testing sites

https://www.gehealthcare.com/products/nuclear-imaging-agents/cerianna

 PRODUCTION SITE LOCATIONS

Cerianna is available within a 3-hour radius from PETNET radiopharmacies

Cerianna is currently produced at fourteen sites across the US, with one additional site planned. Map delivery area is based on 3 hours normal drive time. Actual delivery times may vary.

Chicago | Cleveland | Dallas | Jacksonville | Loma Linda| New York City | Philadelphia | Raleigh-Durham | San Francisco | Seattle | Atlanta | Minneapolis | Phoenix | South Florida (planned)

Meet the Guests of this Episode

A North Carolina native, Ms. Kohl has over 40 years of experience working in government and non-profit management.  She served as Executive Director of the Susan G. Komen, North Carolina Triangle to the Coast Affiliate which serves 29 counties in NC.  In that role, Pam was a passionate spokesperson and advocate for equitable breast cancer support services in Eastern NC and the vital need for breast cancer research.  Her passion for finding the treatments/cures for metastatic breast cancer led to the development of the new Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research Initiative. Pam recently retired but is continuing her advocacy as a volunteer.

Pam was diagnosed with Stage 1 ER+ breast cancer in 2009.  She had a lumpectomy, radiation and stayed on her endocrine therapy for 5 years.  She had no family history and the Oncotype tumor analysis showed a very low risk for recurrence.  In 2014 she was declared cancer free.  However, in October 2016, she was diagnosed with breast cancer again and on January 31st 2017 she was diagnosed with State IV metastatic breast cancer.  She is currently on an oral chemo drug and endocrine therapy and has bone scans and PET/CT scans every 12 weeks.  Pam lives everyday knowing that it is breast cancer research that has prolonged her life and hopes that research will find the cures that will save her life.

Pam was born and raised in Greensboro NC, graduated from Guilford College where she received the 2017 Guilford College Alumni Excellence Award.  She is also a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is presented to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state of North Carolina.  In May 2019, she was awarded the Coastal Federal Credit Union’s Power of Sharing Lifetime Achievement award for her many years of passionate work and leadership in the non-profit sector.

Pam lives in Raleigh with her husband Tom Gongaware and she has two Children Max 32 and Sofie 29.

Facebook: Pam Kohl

Twitter: @PamLKohl

Instagram: @PamKohl52

Dr. Linden is the Athena Distinguished Professor of Breast Cancer Research and a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer, with expertise in endocrine therapy, clinical trials, and molecular imaging. Her clinical practice at the University of Washington includes SCCA and Harborview Medical Center; she helps patients across both organizations access clinical trials, and researchers develop trials. Her research is focused on novel breast cancer therapies and molecular imaging techniques. Areas of particular interest and focus include the development of FES quantitative imaging to determine which patients will benefit from endocrine therapy. She is the co-PI of EAI 142, a cooperative national trial of FES as a biomarker. In collaboration with chemistry and physics at UW she has studied the fidelity of FDG PET and experimental tracers (FES and FLT, measures of ER uptake and proliferation) as part of a collaborative U01 in the NCI’s quantitative imaging network. She is working on clinical trials to determine the bioactivity of oral SERDs (selective ER down-regulators) in development by measuring pharmacodynamic imaging. The group at UW played a major role in the development of FES PET and the FDA approval of this tracer, which will lead to more precise and tolerable regimens for metastatic breast cancer. From the UW Program Project grant in molecular imaging, we have a data base of FES studies, and have recently analyzed patterns in male breast cancer and lobular breast cancer, and changes in quantitative ER expression in patients on treatment. In addition, she is the Associate Program Director of the Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Program and the Director of the Breast Cancer Program, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine.