Nanoreporter PET predicts the efficacy of anti-cancer nanotherapy

The application of nanoparticle drug formulations, such as nanoliposomal doxorubicin (Doxil), is increasingly integrated in clinical cancer care. Despite nanomedicine's remarkable potential and growth over the last three decades, its clinical benefits for cancer patients vary. Here we report a non-invasive quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) nanoreporter technology that is predictive of therapeutic outcome in individual subjects. In a breast cancer mouse model, we demonstrate that co-injecting Doxil and a Zirconium-89 nanoreporter ((89)Zr-NRep) allows precise doxorubicin (DOX) quantification. Importantly, (89)Zr-NRep uptake also correlates with other types of nanoparticles' tumour accumulation. (89)Zr-NRep PET imaging reveals remarkable accumulation heterogeneity independent of tumour size. We subsequently demonstrate that mice with >25 mg kg(−1) DOX accumulation in tumours had significantly better growth inhibition and enhanced survival. This non-invasive imaging tool may be developed into a robust inclusion criterion for patients amenable to nanotherapy.