Consultant Nuclear Medicine Physician

Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine

Specialty: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine

Contact: E-mail: la398 at cam.ac.uk Tel.: +44(0)1223 746397

Profile

Luigi Aloj graduated from the Universitá Federico II Medical School (Napoli, ITALY) in 1990. He trained in Nuclear Medicine at the same University obtaining a Specialist Degree in 1994. From 1994 to 1998 he worked in the Nuclear Medicine Department of the National Institutes of Health, USA as a Visiting Fellow and Visiting Associate. This was followed by training in Diagnostic Radiology completed in 2002.

His main research interests are in novel applications of radiolabelled pharmaceuticals for the study and treatment of cancer with contributions spanning from basic preclinical radiopharmaceutical development and mechanistic studies, to novel clinical applications in nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapy.

He has teaching experience with medical students, nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology specialty trainees, medical physics and biomedical sciences graduate programs as well as PhD supervisions in nuclear medicine and related fields.

Since April 2016 he works at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, initially as an NHS Nuclear Medicine Consultant and since January 2018 also has an appointment as University Lecturer in the Department of Radiology.

He is a member of the Drug Development Committee of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), a former member of the Molecular Imaging Committee of the EANM (2007-2013) and a former member of the editorial board of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (Elsevier, 1998-2018). He is Associate Editor for Frontiers in Oncology-Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions. He is also a member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the British Nuclear Medicine Society and the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences.

Professional Education

Current Research

Radionuclide based applications in molecular imaging and radiotherapy, mostly dedicated to cancer. Current active projects:

• A Phase I/IIa TRIAL addressing the use of radiolabeled bombesin antagonists in imaging and radionuclide therapy of patients with advanced solid tumors known to overexpress gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR).
• Targeted molecular imaging of CA125 in high grade serous ovarian cancer using 89Zr-DFO-B43.13 positron emission tomography (PET) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI
• A phase II, open label, multi-center study of [89Zr]-DF-IAB22M2C for CD8 Positron Emission Tomography in patients with metastatic solid tumors
• Novel radiolabelled nanoparticles for tracking targeted delivery of drugs and therapeutic radionuclides

Last 5 Publications

Best 5 Publications

• Aloj L, Caraco C, Jagoda E, Eckelman WC, Neumann RD. Glut-1 and hexokinase expression: relationship with 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake in A431 and T47D cells in culture. Cancer Res. 1999 Sep 15;59(18):4709-14.
• Caraco C, Aloj L, Chen LY, Chou JY, Eckelman WC. Cellular release of [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose as a function of the glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme system. J Biol Chem. 2000 Jun 16;275(24):18489-94.
• Aloj L, Aurilio M, Rinaldi V, D’Ambrosio L, Tesauro D, Peitl PK, Maina T, Mansi R, von Guggenberg E, Joosten L, Sosabowski JK, Breeman WA, De Blois E, Koelewijn S, Melis M, Waser B, Beetschen K, Reubi JC, de Jong M. Comparison of the binding and internalization properties of 12 DOTA-coupled and (1)(1)(1)In-labelled CCK2/gastrin receptor binding peptides: a collaborative project under COST Action BM0607. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2011 Aug;38(8):1417-25.
• Avallone A, Aloj L, Caraco C, Delrio P, Pecori B, Tatangelo F, Scott N, Casaretti R, Di Gennaro F, Montano M, Silvestro L, Budillon A, Lastoria S. Early FDG PET response assessment of preoperative radiochemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer: correlation with long-term outcome. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2012 Dec;39(12):1848-57.
• Aloj L, D’Ambrosio L, Aurilio M, Morisco A, Frigeri F, Caraco C, Di Gennaro F, Capobianco G, Giovannoni L, Menssen HD, Neri D, Pinto A, Lastoria S. Radioimmunotherapy with Tenarad, a 131I-labelled antibody fragment targeting the extra-domain A1 of tenascin-C, in patients with refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2014 May;41(5):867-77.

Book Chapters

•  Avallone A, Delrio P, Aloj L, et al (2009). Combined chemotherapy during preoperative radioation therapy. In: Hayat MA, Methods of cancer diagnosis, therapy and prognosis. p. 411-436, Springer, Berlin.
• Lastoria S, Aloj L, Caracò C, Farese R, Morisco A. (2016) Role of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography. In: Romano G.M. (eds) Multimodal Treatment of Recurrent Pelvic Colorectal Cancer. Updates in Surgery.p. 39-48. Springer, Milano
• Aloj L, Gallagher FA. (2020) Non-FDG radionuclide imaging and targeted therapies. In: Sahdev A, Vinnicombe SJ (eds) Husband & Reznek’s Imaging in Oncology, 4^th edition, CRC Press