Research from the Netherlands has developed a scan that uses a compound, found in lizard saliva, to detect rare types of tumours.
Insulinomas are rare tumours that form in the pancreas and cause excessive insulin production, leading to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), which occurs in people with diabetes.
As these tumours are difficult to locate with standard imaging techniques, current methods of diagnosis and treatment, including surgery, are challenging.
Researchers at Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc), an EARA member, already knew that the saliva of a Gila monster (pictured) could bind to a molecule on these tumours and developed a more chemically stable version, called Exendin.
They then attached a radioactive substance to Exenin, so it could be visible on an imaging scanner (PET scan) and used it on 69 patients with suspected insulinomas.
The scan detected the tumours in 95% of cases, significantly outperforming traditional imaging methods and potentially reducing the previous need for invasive exploratory surgery.
Martin Gotthardt, lead researcher at Radboudumc, said: "Now, this mildly radioactive Exendin appears to perfectly detect insulinomas."
The Exendin-PET scan is likely to become the standard for insulinomas diagnosis and the technique could help detect other types of tumour as well. The study is now published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.