Toxicity of upfront ¹³¹I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹³¹I-MIBG) therapy in newly diagnosed neuroblastoma patients: a retrospective analysis.

Purpose: In the treatment of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma, different doses of (131)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((131)I-MIBG) are administered at different time points during treatment. Toxicity, mainly haematological (thrombocytopenia), from (131)I-MIBG therapy is known to occur in extensively chemotherapy pretreated neuroblastoma patients. Up to now, acute toxicity from (131)I-MIBG as initial treatment has never been studied in a large cohort.

Prevention of brown adipose tissue activation in 18F-FDG PET/CT of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy.

Unlabelled: (18)F-FDG uptake in brown adipose tissue (BAT) can complicate interpretation and quantification of PET images, especially in regions of possible lymph node metastases such as the axilla and the mediastinum. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the effect of patient preparation using a single oral dose of diazepam and controlled indoor temperature to prevent (18)F-FDG uptake in BAT in breast cancer patients referred for monitoring of therapy response with (18)F-FDG PET.

Methods: During the fall and winter months, 53 patients referred for (18)F-FDG PET/CT of breast cancer were included.

Paraaortic sentinel lymph nodes: toward optimal detection and intraoperative localization using SPECT/CT and intraoperative real-time imaging.

Unlabelled: Paraaortic sentinel node biopsy may be a challenging procedure because the sentinel nodes are located retroperitoneally in close proximity to vital structures. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the value of preoperative SPECT/CT for lymphatic mapping, and a portable gamma-camera for intraoperative radioguidance, in patients with paraaortic sentinel nodes.

Methods: We evaluated our practice in 18 patients, who were treated at The Netherlands Cancer Institute with sentinel lymphadenectomy for different urologic malignancies and showed paraaortic drainage on preoperative images.

Value of SPECT/CT for detection and anatomic localization of sentinel lymph nodes before laparoscopic sentinel node lymphadenectomy in prostate carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Laparoscopic evaluation of sentinel nodes is useful for staging prostate cancer, but preoperative localization of deep abdominal sentinel nodes with planar lymphoscintigraphy is difficult. We evaluated the value of SPECT/CT for detecting and localizing sentinel nodes in prostate cancer.

Methods: (99m)Tc-nanocolloid was injected peri- and intratumorally, guided by transrectal ultrasonography, in 46 patients with prostate cancer of intermediate prognosis.

In vivo imaging of radiation-induced apoptosis in follicular lymphoma patients.

Purpose: To evaluate (99m)Tc-Annexin-V (TAV) scintigraphy in monitoring radiation-induced apoptotic cell death in follicular lymphoma (FL) patients.

Patients And Methods: Eleven FL patients (7 female and 4 male; median age, 58 years; range, 42-80 years) with recurrent disease underwent TAV imaging before and 24 hours after the last fraction of the 2 x 2 Gy involved field radiotherapy regimen. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was performed on 5 consecutive days to determine the optimal time window for apoptosis detection and to confirm the apoptotic nature of the response.

Development of a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for prediction of the uptake of meta-[(131)I]iodobenzylguanidine by neuroblastoma tumors.

Purpose: The suitability of neuroblastoma patients for therapy using radiolabeled meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is determined by scintigraphy after the administration of a tracer dose of radioiodinated MIBG whose uptake is dependent upon the cellular expression of the noradrenaline transporter (NAT). As a possible alternative to gamma camera imaging, we developed a novel molecular assay of NAT expression. mRNA extracted from neuroblastoma biopsy samples, obtained retrospectively, was reverse transcribed, and NAT-specific cDNA was quantified by real-time PCR, referenced against the expression of the housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Phase 1 study to identify tumour hypoxia in patients with head and neck cancer using technetium-99m BRU 59-21.

The aim of this study was to assess the safety and biodistribution of technetium-99m BRU 59-21, a novel radioactively labelled 2-nitro-imidazole hypoxic marker, in head and neck cancer patients and to correlate uptake with pimonidazole staining. (99m)Tc-BRU 59-21 was administered intravenously (mean dose 824 MBq, range 780-857 MBq) to ten head and neck cancer patients scheduled for primary surgery, and whole-body images and SPET scans were then obtained. Uptake of radioactivity in the regions of interest was determined and tumour to normal tissue ratios were calculated after correlative evaluation with MRI/CT.