PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Karen A. Kurdziel AU - Dale O. Kiesewetter AU - Richard E. Carson AU - William C. Eckelman AU - Peter Herscovitch TI - Biodistribution, Radiation Dose Estimates, and In Vivo Pgp Modulation Studies of <sup>18</sup>F-Paclitaxel in Nonhuman Primates DP - 2003 Aug 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 1330--1339 VI - 44 IP - 8 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/44/8/1330.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/44/8/1330.full SO - J Nucl Med2003 Aug 01; 44 AB - Multidrug resistance (MDR) associated with increased expression and function of the P-glycoprotein (Pgp) efflux pump often causes chemotherapeutic failure in cancer. To provide insight into both the dynamics of the pump and the effects of MDR, we radiolabeled paclitaxel, a substrate for the Pgp pump, with 18F to study MDR in vivo with PET. We obtained biodistribution and radiation dose estimates for 18F-paclitaxel (FPAC) in monkeys and studied the effects of a Pgp blocker (XR9576, tariquidar) on FPAC kinetics. Methods: Paired baseline and Pgp modulation (2 mg/kg XR9576) 4-h whole-body dynamic PET scans were obtained in 3 rhesus monkeys after injection of FPAC. Measured residence times were extrapolated to humans and radiation dose estimates were obtained using MIRDOSE3.1. The postmodulator area under the time–activity curves (AUCs) and Logan plot slopes, a measure of tracer distribution volume (equilibrium tissue-to-plasma ratio) that is inversely proportional to tracer efflux, were compared with baseline values to determine changes in FPAC distribution. Results: Cumulative activities of the organs sampled accounted for 80% of the injected dose. The critical organ is gallbladder wall (0.19 mGy/MBq [0.69 rad/mCi]), followed by liver (0.14 mGy/MBq [0.52 rad/mCi]); the effective dose is 0.022 mSv/MBq (0.083 rem/mCi). XR9576 preinfusion changed the Logan plot slope for liver by +104% (P = 0.02), lung by +87% (P = 0.11), and kidney by −14% (P = 0.08). Changes in the mean AUC (normalized to the plasma AUC) were +54% (P = 0.08), +97% (P = 0.04), and −12% (P = 0.02), respectively, for liver, lung, and kidney. No significant difference was found in the metabolite-corrected plasma AUC (normalized to the injected dose) between the baseline and XR9576 modulator studies (P = 0.69). Conclusion: Under Radioactive Drug Research Committee guidelines, 266 MBq (7.2 mCi) FPAC can be administered to humans up to 3 times a year. The increase in FPAC accumulation in liver and lung after XR9576 is consistent with Pgp inhibition and demonstrates the potential of FPAC to evaluate MDR.