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Erschienen in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 13/2021

24.06.2021 | Original Article

Clinical translational evaluation of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI for fibroblast activation protein-targeted tumour imaging

verfasst von: Shuailiang Wang, Xin Zhou, Xiaoxia Xu, Jin Ding, Song Liu, Xingguo Hou, Nan Li, Hua Zhu, Zhi Yang

Erschienen in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Ausgabe 13/2021

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Abstract

Purpose

In this study, a novel aluminium-[18F]fluoride (Al18F)-labelled 1,4,7‑triazacyclononane-N,N′,N″-triacetic acid (NOTA)-conjugated fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) probe, named Al18F-NOTA-FAPI, was developed for fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeted tumour imaging; it could deliver hundreds of millicuries of radioactivity using automated synthesis. The tumour detection efficacy of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was further validated in both preclinical and clinical translational studies.

Methods

The radiolabelling procedure of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was optimized. Cell uptake and competitive binding assays were completed with the U87MG and A549 cell lines to evaluate the affinity and specificity of the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe. The biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, radiation dosimetry and tumour imaging efficacy of the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe were researched in healthy Kunming (KM) and/or U87MG model mice. After the approval of the ethical committee, the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe was translated into the clinic for PET/CT imaging of the first 10 cancer patients.

Results

The radiolabelling yield of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was 33.8 ± 3.2% using manual synthesis (n = 10), with a radiochemical purity over 99% and the specific activity of 9.3–55.5 MBq/nmol. The whole body effective dose of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was estimated to be 1.24E − 02 mSv/MBq, which was lower than several other FAPI probes (68Ga-FAPI-04, 68Ga-FAPI-46 and 68Ga-FAPI-74). In U87MG tumour-bearing mice, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI showed good tumour detection efficacy based on the results of micro PET/CT imaging and biodistribution studies. In an organ biodistribution study of patients, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI showed a lower SUVmean than 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-[18F]FDG) in most organs, especially in the liver (1.1 ± 0.2 vs. 2.0 ± 0.9), brain (0.1 ± 0.0 vs. 5.9 ± 1.3), and bone marrow (0.9 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ± 0.4). Meanwhile, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI did not show extensive bone uptake, and was able to detect more lesions than 2-[18F]FDG in the PET/CT imaging of several patients.

Conclusion

The Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe was successfully fabricated and applied in fibroblast activation protein-targeted tumour PET/CT imaging, which showed excellent imaging quality and tumour detection efficacy in U87MG tumour-bearing mice as well as in cancer patients.

Trial registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000038080. Registered 09 September 2020. http://​www.​chictr.​org.​cn/​showproj.​aspx?​proj=​61192
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Metadaten
Titel
Clinical translational evaluation of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI for fibroblast activation protein-targeted tumour imaging
verfasst von
Shuailiang Wang
Xin Zhou
Xiaoxia Xu
Jin Ding
Song Liu
Xingguo Hou
Nan Li
Hua Zhu
Zhi Yang
Publikationsdatum
24.06.2021
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Erschienen in
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Ausgabe 13/2021
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Elektronische ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-021-05470-5

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