NCI Cancer Imaging Program Webinar: PARP-Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Imaging and Therapy
September 14, 2026 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
The NCI Cancer Imaging Program presents a monthly webinar series highlighting advancements in our imaging community.
Join the WebEx
Speaker
David Mankoff, MD, PhD
Matthew J. Wilson Professor and Vice-Chair for Research
Department of Radiology
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
Poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) is a key protein for DNA damage repair (DDR) and is an established target for treatment of tumors that have a deficiency in homologous DNA repair (HRD). PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have become an important class of drugs that are used for a variety of cancers- such as ovarian, breast, and prostate – that are associated with mutations in BRCA-related genes that confer HRD. The importance of PARPi drugs in oncologic practice led to interest in developing molecular imaging approaches to measure expression of the drug target (activated PARP1) that could complement current clinical markers that rely on genomic assays. Several imaging agents derived from PARPi analogs have been developed and some have been tested in clinical studies that validated PET agent uptake measures against tissue assay and also showed that PET measures of regional PARPi binding improve the ability to predict response to PARI by providing data on target expression that is complementary to genomic assays. PARP-targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy agents have also been developed using iodine isotopes or 211At, with the later considerable potency in pre-clinical studies. This talk will review the underlying science PARP as a therapeutic target and will describe progress to date for PARP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals for both imaging and therapy. The talk will also highlight pathways to translation and commercialization using the theranostic pai - [18F] fluorthanatrace (FTT) and [211At] parthantine (PTT) - that have leveraged NCI grant mechanisms tailored to discovery science, translation, and commercialization.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Mankoff's clinical practice centers on nuclear medicine, with a focus on PET molecular imaging and radiopharmaceutical therapy for cancer. His research emphasizes molecular imaging of cancer, particularly breast cancer, to develop imaging biomarkers that support precision oncology, treatment monitoring, and understanding therapeutic response and resistance. He also leads translational and clinical research to move innovative imaging agents, radiopharmaceutical therapies, and quantitative imaging methods from the laboratory into clinical practice.