Positron emission tomography and radioimmunotargeting--aspects of quantification and dosimetry

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging tool with high resolution and good quantitative properties, which makes it suitable for in vivo quantification of radioimmunotargeting agents. Most radionuclides used in radioimmunotherapy have positron-emitting analogues, which can be used for PET imaging, and this opens the possibility of performing dosimetry with PET. These isotopes, however, often emit gamma radiation and high-energy positrons in their decay, influencing the imaging properties of PET. Spatial resolution, reconstructed background and line source recovery for a number of non-pure positron emitters were investigated and compared with the imaging properties of 18F. PET imaging properties did not degrade severely for these non-pure positron emitters, but caution has to be applied when doing quantitative measurements. To assess the possibility of conducting PET studies during therapy, by combining, for example, a small amount of 124I with 131I, the influence of the presence of large amounts of gamma radiation on PET count rate characteristics was studied. The results of these studies were related to the necessary amounts of radioactivity needed for treatment of post-operative remains of glioma. The results indicate that the count rate capabilities of 2D PET permit PET studies for dose evaluation during radioimmunotherapy.