An observational study in Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer, HER2-Expression, sponsored by The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-17.
Sponsored by The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University · Observational
This study aims to evaluate the clinical utility of 18F-labeled HER2 Affibody PET for diagnosing and monitoring HER2-expressing breast cancer. HER2, a protein overexpressed in certain malignancies including breast cancer, serves as a critical biomarker for targeted therapies.The HER2 Affibody-an engineered 7 kDa protein with nanomolar affinity for HER2-leverages its rapid tumor penetration and clearance kinetics to achieve high-contrast PET imaging. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of 18F-HER2 Affibody PET in early detection, clinical staging, and treatment response monitoring, thereby providing novel imaging evidence to guide personalized therapeutic strategies for patients with HER2-expressing breast cancer.
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a transmembrane receptor protein with tyrosine kinase activity that plays a crucial role in cell growth, activation, and proliferation. While minimally expressed in normal tissues, HER2 is highly expressed in various malignant tumors, especially breast cancer, making it a key target for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.HER2-positivity was defined with Immunohistochemistry (IHC) 3+ or IHC 2+ followed by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization（FISH） showing HER2 amplification.HER2-low was defined IHC 1+ or IHC 2+ with negative FISH . Conventional diagnostic approaches like biopsy are inherently invasive and lack the capability for longitudinal evaluation of HER2 expression dynamics.The HER2-targeted Affibody molecule demonstrates superior diagnostic potential compared to traditional antibodies, attributed to its enhanced specificity, compact molecular structure enabling rapid biodistribution (achieving optimal blood clearance within 1-4 hours post-injection), and consequent high-contrast imaging capabilities. As a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, 18F-HER2 Affibody holds promise for delivering precise, non-invasive quantification of HER2 status. This study seeks to systematically assess the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-HER2 Affibody PET in tumor staging and treatment stratification, while concurrently investigating its prognostic value through longitudinal treatment response monitoring in breast cancer patients with HER2-overexpressing tumors.
14,825 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 3,319 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 184 across 3,235 observational studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.
Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University is the lead sponsor of 149 studies on the registry; 56 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
The study population for this clinical trial consists of adults aged 18 to 75 years with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. Participants must have a clinically or pathologically confirmed diagnosis of HER2 expression breast cancer or suspected HER2 expression breast cancer. A life expectancy of at least 12 weeks is required, along with the presence of at least one measurable target lesion according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria. All participants of reproductive potential must agree to use effective contraceptive methods throughout the trial and for six months after the last PET scan. Additionally, participants must be able to understand and voluntarily sign the informed consent form，demonstrating good compliance with the study protocol.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).
Your pathology report is the document that shows this.
HER2 is a protein, made from the ERBB2 gene, that drives the growth of some cancers. A study may look for a level of the protein, extra copies of the gene, or a particular change in it.
In breast cancer, protein tests are read as HER2-positive, HER2-low or HER2-negative; other cancers use their own rules. Check which test result the study requires.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.
“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.
Able to have children. For women this usually means from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery; for men, unless permanently sterile. Read who the line is about — participants, women, men, or their partners.
Criteria about it usually ask for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Histologically or cytologically confirmed
The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).
Your pathology report is the document that shows this.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HER2
HER2 is a protein, made from the ERBB2 gene, that drives the growth of some cancers. A study may look for a level of the protein, extra copies of the gene, or a particular change in it.
In breast cancer, protein tests are read as HER2-positive, HER2-low or HER2-negative; other cancers use their own rules. Check which test result the study requires.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
RECIST
The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.
“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Reproductive potential
Able to have children. For women this usually means from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery; for men, unless permanently sterile. Read who the line is about — participants, women, men, or their partners.
Criteria about it usually ask for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Radiation: 18F-HER2 Affibody PET scan
HER2 Affibody, labeled with PET radio-nuclide 18F will be used as a molecular imaging tracer for PET scan. All participants will undergo 18F-HER2 Affibody PET scan.
SUV
The uptake of the tracer in the primary and metastatic tumor lesions by measuring standardized uptake value (SUV) on PET
Time frame: 2 years
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Apr 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2027, 32 months after the start.
Of 1,191 non-industry observational studies under Breast Neoplasms, half reached primary completion within 58 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 25 and three quarters within 139. This study's planned 32 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,380 studies reached it within 55 months; a quarter within 25 and three quarters within 126.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
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The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University →