PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jim O’Doherty
AU  - Maite Jauregui-Osoro
AU  - Teresa Brothwood
AU  - Teresa Szyszko
AU  - Paul K. Marsden
AU  - Michael J. O’Doherty
AU  - Gary J.R. Cook
AU  - Philip J. Blower
AU  - Val Lewington
TI  - <sup>18</sup>F-Tetrafluoroborate, a PET Probe for Imaging Sodium/Iodide Symporter Expression: Whole-Body Biodistribution, Safety, and Radiation Dosimetry in Thyroid Cancer Patients
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.117.192252
DP  - 2017 Oct 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1666--1671
VI  - 58
IP  - 10
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/10/1666.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/10/1666.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2017 Oct 01; 58
AB  - We report the safety, biodistribution, and internal radiation dosimetry, in humans with thyroid cancer, of 18F-tetrafluoroborate (18F-TFB), a novel PET radioligand for imaging the human sodium/iodide symporter (hNIS). Methods: Serial whole-body PET scans of 5 subjects with recently diagnosed thyroid cancer were acquired before surgery for up to 4 h after injection of 184 ± 15 MBq of 18F-TFB. Activity was determined in whole blood, plasma, and urine. Mean organ-absorbed doses and effective doses were calculated via quantitative image analysis and using OLINDA/EXM software. Results: Images showed a high uptake of 18F-TFB in known areas of high hNIS expression (thyroid, salivary glands, and stomach). Excretion was predominantly renal. No adverse effects in relation to safety of the radiopharmaceutical were observed. The effective dose was 0.0326 ± 0.0018 mSv/MBq. The critical tissues/organs receiving the highest mean sex-averaged absorbed doses were the thyroid (0.135 ± 0.079 mSv/MBq), stomach (0.069 ± 0.022 mSv/MBq), and salivary glands (parotids, 0.031 ± 0.011 mSv/MBq; submandibular, 0.061 ± 0.031 mSv/MBq). Other organs of interest were the bladder (0.102 ± 0.046 mSv/MBq) and kidneys (0.029 ± 0.009 mSv/MBq). Conclusion: Imaging using 18F-TFB imparts a radiation exposure similar in magnitude to many other 18F-labeled radiotracers. 18F-TFB shows a biodistribution similar to 99mTc-pertechnetate, a known nonorganified hNIS tracer, and is pharmacologically and radiobiologically safe in humans. Phase 2 trials for 18F-TFB as an hNIS imaging agent are warranted.