Several scintigraphic techniques have been supplemented or replaced by PET/CT methods because of their superior sensitivity, high resolution, and absolute activity quantification capability. The purpose of this project was the… Click to show full abstract
Several scintigraphic techniques have been supplemented or replaced by PET/CT methods because of their superior sensitivity, high resolution, and absolute activity quantification capability. The purpose of this project was the development of a PET tracer for splenic imaging, its radiopharmaceutical validation, and its application in selected patients in whom unclear constellations of findings could not be resolved with established imaging methods. Heat-damaged red blood cells (RBCs) were labeled with [68Ga]gallium-oxine, which was produced from [68Ga]gallium and 8-Hydroxyquinoline (oxine) on an automated synthesizer. Ten patients underwent [68Ga]gallium-oxine-RBC-PET/CT for the classification of eleven unclear lesions (3 intra-, 8 extrapancreatic). [68Ga]gallium-oxine and [68Ga]gallium-oxine-labeled RBCs could be synthesized reproducibly and reliably. The products met GMP quality standards. The tracer showed high accumulation in splenic tissue. Of the 11 lesions evaluated by PET/CT, 3 were correctly classified as non-splenic, 6 as splenic, 1 as equivocal, and 1 lesion as a splenic hypoplasia. All lesions classified as non-splenic were malignant, and all lesions classified as splenic did not show malignant features during follow-up. PET/CT imaging of the spleen with [68Ga]gallium-oxine-labeled, heat-damaged RBCs is feasible and allowed differentiation of splenic from non-splenic tissues, and the diagnosis of splenic anomalies.
               
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