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Biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of [11C]choline: a comparison between rat and human data

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Abstract

Purpose

Methyl-11C-choline ([11C]choline) is a radiopharmaceutical used for oncological PET studies. We investigated the biodistribution and biokinetics of [11C]choline and provide estimates of radiation doses in humans.

Methods

The distribution of [11C]choline was evaluated ex vivo in healthy rats (n=9) by measuring the radioactivity of excised organs, and in vivo in tumour-bearing rats (n=4) by PET. In addition to estimates of human radiation doses extrapolated from rat data, more accurate human radiation doses were calculated on the basis of PET imaging of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n=6) primarily participating in a synovitis imaging project with [11C]choline. Dynamic data were acquired from the thorax and abdomen after injection of 423±11 MBq (mean±SD) of tracer. Following PET imaging, the radioactivity in voided urine was measured. The experimental human data were used for residence time estimations. Radiation doses were calculated with OLINDA/EXM.

Results

In rats, the radioactivity distributed mainly to the kidneys, lungs, liver and adrenal gland. The effective dose in a human adult of about 70 kg was 0.0044 mSv/MBq, which is equivalent to 2.0 mSv from 460 MBq of [11C]choline PET. The highest absorbed doses in humans were 0.021 mGy/MBq in the kidneys, 0.020 mGy/MBq in the liver and 0.029 mGy/MBq in the pancreas. Only 2.0% of injected radioactivity was excreted in the urine during the 1.5 h after injection.

Conclusion

The absorbed radiation doses after administration of 460 MBq of [11C]choline were low. Except for the pancreas, biodistribution in the rat was in accordance with that in humans, but rat data may underestimate the effective dose, suggesting that clinical measurements are needed for a more detailed estimation. The observed effective doses suggest the feasibility of [11C]choline PET for human studies.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the medical laboratory technologists and radiographers of the Turku PET Centre for their professional assistance and cooperation. We acknowledge Maija-Liisa Hoffren for excellent assistance with the animal studies. This study was funded by grants awarded by the Academy of Finland (no. 119048) and the Hospital District of Southwest Finland (no. EVO13856). This study was approved by the joint Ethics Committee of the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, and the University Laboratory Animal Committee. All experiments were in compliance with Finnish law.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, FI-20521, Turku, Finland

    Tuula Tolvanen, Tiina Ujula, Anu Autio, Heikki Minn & Anne Roivainen

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Turku University Hospital, FI-20521, Turku, Finland

    Timo Yli-Kerttula

  3. Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory, Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, FI-20500, Turku, Finland

    Pertti Lehikoinen

  4. Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Turku University Hospital, FI-20521, Turku, Finland

    Heikki Minn

  5. Turku Centre for Disease Modelling, University of Turku, FI-20521, Turku, Finland

    Anne Roivainen

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  1. Tuula Tolvanen
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Correspondence to Anne Roivainen.

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Tolvanen, T., Yli-Kerttula, T., Ujula, T. et al. Biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of [11C]choline: a comparison between rat and human data. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 37, 874–883 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-009-1346-z

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