PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yubin Miao
AU  - Katherine Benwell
AU  - Thomas P. Quinn
TI  - <sup>99m</sup>Tc- and <sup>111</sup>In-Labeled α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Peptides as Imaging Probes for Primary and Pulmonary Metastatic Melanoma Detection
DP  - 2007 Jan 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 73--80
VI  - 48
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/48/1/73.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/48/1/73.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2007 Jan 01; 48
AB  - It is highly desired to develop new imaging probes for early detection of melanoma as early diagnosis and prompt surgical removal are a patient's best hope for a cure. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 99mTc- and 111In-labeled α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) peptides could be used as imaging probes for primary and metastatic melanoma using dual-modality micro-SPECT/CT detection. Methods: [Cys3,4,10,d-Phe7,Arg11]α-MSH3–13 [(Arg11)CCMSH] and [1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid]Re(Arg11)CCMSH [DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH] were labeled with 99mTc and 111In. The pharmacokinetics of 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH were examined in B16/F1 flank and B16/F10 pulmonary metastatic murine melanoma-bearing C57 mice. The biodistribution of 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH was performed in B16/F10 pulmonary metastatic murine melanoma-bearing C57 mice. SPECT/CT of 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH and 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH was determined in B16/F1 flank and B16/F10 pulmonary metastatic murine melanoma-bearing C57 mice. Results: 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH and 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH exhibited high tumor uptakes (14.03 ± 2.58 percentage injected dose/gram [%ID/g] at 1 h after injection and 17.29 ± 2.49 %ID/g at 2 h after injection) in B16/F1 melanoma-bearing mice, and the flank melanoma tumors were clearly imaged by micro-SPECT/CT. Nontarget organ uptakes were considerably lower except for the kidneys. B16/F10 pulmonary melanoma metastases were also clearly visualized by micro-SPECT/CT using 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH or 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH as the imaging probe. 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH exhibited images with greater resolution of metastatic melanoma lesions compared with 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH. Conclusion: The favorable tumor imaging properties of 99mTc-(Arg11)CCMSH and 111In-DOTA-Re(Arg11)CCMSH highlighted their potential as novel probes for primary and metastatic melanoma detection.