[Phase III multi-center clinical study on 99mTc-GSA, a new agent for functional imaging of the liver]

A multi-center clinical study was performed in patients with hepatic disorders to evaluate the clinical usefulness of 99mTc-DTPA-galactosyl serum albumin (99mTc-GSA), a new radiopharmaceutical which binds to asialoglycoprotein receptors on hepatocytes. The blood clearance and hepatic accumulation were evaluated on the basis of the dynamic data and serial hepatic images obtained for 20 min after 99mTc-GSA injection. The blood clearance and hepatic accumulation indices of 99mTc-GSA demonstrated the followings. 1) In acute liver diseases, these indices reflected the clinical features of the disease and correlated with the laboratory test indices for the blood coagulation system. 2) In chronic liver diseases, these indices changed in direct proportion to the progression of the hepatic disorder and correlated well with the conventional laboratory test results. 3) In obstructive jaundice, these indices aided evaluation of the liver function despite the high serum bilirubin level. 4) The indices reflected the change in the number of hepatocytes before and after hepatectomy. The scintigraphic findings with 99mTc-GSA permitted both functional and morphological evaluations of the liver and provide additional information compared with conventional liver scintigraphy. These results suggest that 99mTc-GSA scintigraphy may be useful for evaluating both the function and morphology of the liver from a new viewpoint of receptor-mediated accumulation.