PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Moraitis, Alexandros AU - Prochnow, Andre AU - Poeppel, Thorsten Dirk AU - Schmitz, Jochen AU - Laschinsky, Christina AU - Herrmann, Ken AU - Bockisch, Andreas AU - Fragoso Costa, Pedro AU - Kersting, David AU - Jentzen, Walter TI - Tumor Dose–Response Relationship of [<sup>131</sup>I]MIBG Therapy in Patients with Neural Crest Tumors by Means of [<sup>124</sup>I]MIBG PET AID - 10.2967/jnumed.124.269377 DP - 2025 Mar 13 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - jnumed.124.269377 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2025/03/13/jnumed.124.269377.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2025/03/13/jnumed.124.269377.full AB - [131I]Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy in patients with neural crest tumors has demonstrated sustained control of catecholamine-associated hypertension and corresponding partial response. Details on how neural crest tumors respond to an absorbed dose delivered by [131I]MIBG-targeted therapies is insufficiently known. The primary aim of this retrospective study was to assess the tumor dose–response relationship by means of quantitative analysis of [124I]MIBG PET data. Methods: The tumor dose–response relationship was studied in patients with advanced malignant pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, or paraganglioma receiving [131I]MIBG treatment, as well as pretherapeutic and follow-up [124I]MIBG-based dosimetry. [124I]MIBG PET imaging was performed around 4, 24, 48, and 120 h after injection. Lesion uptake was projected to [131I]MIBG for every time point, and respective time-integrated activity coefficients (TIACs) for [131I]MIBG were calculated and used for tumor-absorbed dose estimation. Functional response was denoted for decrease of maximal lesion uptake or TIAC by at least 30% in the follow-up examination. In a consecutive analysis, the predictive value of a single tumor-uptake assessment from PET imaging at 24 h after administration was investigated with respect to receiving the derived target dose. Results: In total, 46 lesions from 9 patients were available for dose–response analysis. The mean ± SD tumor-absorbed dose coefficient was 13.4 ± 15.4 Gy/GBq (median, 7.2 Gy/GBq; range, 1.1–64.7 Gy/GBq). A high correlation (−0.60, P &lt; 0.001) was found between uptake decrease and tumor dose. In addition, a very high correlation (0.91, P &lt; 0.001) was found between uptake and TIAC decrease. The estimated targeted tumor dose was 200 Gy, that is, the dose at which the response rate exceeded the 90% threshold. A single 24-h uptake assessment showed predictive value with respect to receiving the target dose. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a clear correlation between tumor-absorbed dose and functional response in [131I]MIBG therapy and proposes a target dose for response at the tumor level.