A Phase 0 Microdosing PET/CT Study Using O-[18F]Fluoromethyl-d-Tyrosine in Normal Human Brain and Brain Tumor

Purpose The aim of the present study was to obtain information about distribution, radiation dosimetry, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of O-[18F]fluoromethyl-D-tyrosine (D-18F-FMT), an amino acid PET tracer, in patients with brain tumors. Patients and methods A total of 6 healthy controls (age = 19-25 years, 3 males and 3 females) with brain PET images and radiation dosimetry and 12 patients (median age = 60 years, 6 males and 6 females) with primary (n = 5) or metastatic brain tumor (n = 7) were enrolled. We acquired 60-minute dynamic brain PET images after injecting 370 MBq of D-18F-FMT. Time-activity curves of D-18F-FMT uptake in normal brain versus brain tumors and tumor-to-background ratio were analyzed for each PET data set. Results Normal cerebral uptake of D-18F-FMT decreased from 0 to 5 minutes after injection, but gradually increased from 10 to 60 minutes. Tumoral uptake of D-18F-FMT reached a peak before 30 minutes. Tumor-to-background ratio peaked at less than 15 minutes for 8 patients and more than 15 minutes for 4 patients. The mean effective dose was calculated to be 13.2 μSv/MBq. Conclusions Using D-18F-FMT as a PET radiotracer is safe. It can distinguish brain tumor from surrounding normal brain tissues with a high contrast. Early-time PET images of brain tumors should be acquired because the tumor-to-background ratio tended to reach a peak within 15 minutes after injection.