Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of the Anti-HER2 Affibody Molecule 68Ga-ABY-025 in Breast Cancer Patients

J Nucl Med. 2016 Jun;57(6):867-71. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.115.169342. Epub 2016 Feb 9.

Abstract

(68)Ga-ABY-025 is a radiolabeled Affibody molecule for in vivo diagnosis of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer tumors with PET. The aim of the present work was to measure the biodistribution and estimate the radiation dosimetry of (68)Ga-ABY-025 for 2 different peptide mass doses in a single group of patients using dynamic and serial whole-body PET/CT.

Methods: Eight patients with metastatic breast cancer were included. Each patient underwent an abdominal 45-min dynamic and 3 whole-body PET/CT scans at 1, 2, and 4 h after injection of a low peptide dose (LD) and a high peptide dose (HD), with approximately the same amount of radioactivity, in separate investigations 1 wk apart. As input to the absorbed dose calculations, volumes of interest were drawn on all clearly identifiable source organs: liver, kidneys, spleen, descending aorta, and upper large intestine. Absorbed doses were calculated using OLINDA/EXM, version 1.1.

Results: Of the major organs, the highest radionuclide uptake at 1, 2, and 4 h after injection was observed in the kidneys and liver. The highest absorbed organ doses were seen in the kidneys, followed by the liver for both LD and HD (68)Ga-ABY-025. Absorbed doses to liver and kidneys were slightly but significantly higher for LD. Total effective dose was 0.030 ± 0.003 mSv/MBq for LD and 0.028 ± 0.002 mSv/MBq for HD.

Conclusion: The effective dose for a typical 200-MBq administration of (68)Ga-ABY-025 is 6.0 mSv for LD and 5.6 mSv for HD. Therefore, from a radiation dosimetry point of view, HD is preferred for PET/CT evaluation of HER2-expressing breast cancer tumors. These effective doses are somewhat higher than earlier published values for other (68)Ga-labeled tracers, such as 0.021 ± 0.003 mSv/MBq for (68)Ga-DOTATATE and (68)Ga-DOTATOC, mainly because of higher uptake in liver and kidney.

Keywords: 68Ga-gallium; Affibody; HER2-receptor; breast cancer metastases; dosimetry.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Gallium Radioisotopes*
  • Humans
  • Peptide Fragments / immunology*
  • Peptide Fragments / pharmacokinetics*
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography*
  • Radiometry
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / immunology*
  • Staphylococcal Protein A / immunology*
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Whole Body Imaging

Substances

  • ABY-025
  • Gallium Radioisotopes
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Staphylococcal Protein A
  • ERBB2 protein, human
  • Receptor, ErbB-2