Comparative PET imaging of experimental tumors with bromine-76-labeled antibodies, fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose and carbon-11-methionine.

UNLABELLED

The potential of a 76Br-labeled anti-carcinoembryonic antigen monoclonal antibody (MAb), 38S1, as tumor-imaging agent for PET was investigated in a comparative experimental study with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) and L-[methyl-11C]methionine ([11C]Met).

METHODS

The three radiotracers were administered to nude rats carrying subcutaneous xenografts or liver metastases from a human colonic carcinoma. Tracer biodistribution was evaluated by PET imaging and radioactivity measurement of dissected tissues and also by whole-body autoradiography for subcutaneous xenografts.

RESULTS

For PET imaging of subcutaneous tumors, 76Br-38S1 proved superior to the other radiotracers. Tumor-to-tissue ratios were, except for the tumor-to-blood ratio, generally higher for 76Br-labeled MAb than for [18F]FDG and [11C]Met. Liver metastases were imaged with PET using both 76Br-38S1 and [18F]FDG, and the metastases-to-liver ratios of dissected samples were not significantly different for the two radiotracers.

CONCLUSION

The tumor-imaging capacity of 76Br-labeled MAb 38S1 was superior to [18F]FDG and [11C]Met in the subcutaneous tumor model, whereas 76Br-38S1 and [18F]FDG were equally successful for the identification of liver metastases.