Fluorine F 18 EF5 PET/CT Imaging in Patients With Locally Advanced or Recurrent/Metastatic Cervical Cancer

[F18]EF5 PET/CT Imaging in Patients With Locally Advanced or Recurrent/Metastatic Carcinoma of the Cervix

RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as fluorine F 18 EF5 PET/CT imaging, may help find oxygen in tumor cells. It may also help doctors predict a patient's response to treatment and help plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This trial is studying fluorine F 18 EF5 PET/CT imaging to see how well it works in finding hypoxia in tumor cells of patients with locally advanced or recurrent/metastatic cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• To determine if the presence and heterogeneity of hypoxia can be detected by fluorine F 18 EF5 binding in tumors during PET/CT imaging in patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent carcinoma of the cervix.
• To determine if fludeoxyglucose F 18 uptake correlates with fluorine F 18 EF5 uptake.
• To assess the relationship between fluorine F 18 EF5 uptake and disease-free and overall survival.

OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to disease stage (locally advanced vs recurrent or metastatic disease).

Patients receive fluorine F 18 EF5 IV followed by PET/CT imaging from the base of skull to upper thigh at baseline and during radiotherapy or chemotherapy (i.e., at 3-4 weeks after the initiation of radiotherapy or after the 4th, 5th, or 6th course of chemotherapy). Patients also undergo fludeoxyglucose F 18 PET/CT imaging within 7 to 10 days of the second fluorine F 18 EF5 scan.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days and then annually thereafter.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix meeting 1 of the following criteria:

  • Pathologically confirmed, newly diagnosed stage IB-IVA (locally advanced) disease
  • Imaging evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease

• Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 cm on anatomic imaging

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Karnofsky performance status 70-100%
• WBC > 2,000/mm³
• Platelet count > 90,000/mm³
• Total bilirubin < 2.0 mg/dL
• Creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No history of allergic reactions attributed to Flagyl (metronidazole)
• No other condition or personal circumstance that, in the judgment of the Investigator, may interfere with the collection of complete, good-quality data

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Not specified