Biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA HBED CC—a PSMA specific probe for PET imaging of prostate cancer

Purpose: Positron emission tomography (PET) agents targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) are currently under broad clinical and scientific investigation. ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA HBED-CC constitutes the first ⁶⁸Ga-labelled PSMA-inhibitor and has evolved as a promising agent for imaging PSMA expression in vivo. The aim of this study was to evaluate the whole-body distribution and radiation dosimetry of this new probe. Methods: Five patients with a history or high suspicion of prostate cancer were injected intravenously with a mean of 139.8 ± 13.7 MBq of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA HBED-CC (range 120–158 MBq). Four static skull to mid-thigh scans using a whole-body fully integrated PET/MR-system were performed 10 min, 60 min, 130 min, and 175 min after the tracer injection. Time-dependent changes of the injected activity per organ were determined. Mean organ-absorbed doses and effective doses (ED) were calculated using OLINDA/EXM. Results: Injection of a standard activity of 150 MBq ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA HBED-CC resulted in a median effective dose of 2.37 mSv (Range 1.08E-02 – 2.46E-02 mSv/MBq). The urinary bladder wall (median absorbed dose 1.64E-01 mGv/MBq; range 8.76E-02 – 2.91E-01 mGv/MBq) was the critical organ, followed by the kidneys (median absorbed dose 1.21E-01 mGv/MBq; range 7.16E-02 – 1.75E-01), spleen (median absorbed dose 4.13E-02 mGv/MBq; range 1.57E-02 – 7.32E-02 mGv/MBq) and liver (median absorbed dose 2.07E-02 mGv/MBq; range 1.80E-02 – 2.57E-02 mGv/MBq). No drug-related pharmacological effects occurred. Conclusion: The use of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA HBED-CC results in a relatively low radiation exposure, delivering organ doses that are comparable to those of other ⁶⁸Ga-labelled PSMA-inhibitors used for PET-imaging. Total effective dose is lower than for other PET-agents used for prostate cancer imaging (e.g. ¹¹C- and ¹⁸F-Choline).