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Cortisol-Producing Adrenal Adenomas With Intense Activity on 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT

Jie Ding1, Anli Tong2, YuShi Zhang3

  • 1From the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine.

Clinical Nuclear Medicine
|January 25, 2021
PubMed

Insights

CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is highly expressed in functional adrenal adenomas. A CXCR4-specific tracer, 68Ga-pentixafor, shows intense activity in cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas, aiding in diagnosing Cushing syndrome.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Nuclear Medicine
  • Oncology

Background:

  • CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4), a G-protein-coupled receptor, is upregulated in functional adrenocortical adenomas.
  • Distinguishing functional from non-functional adrenal adenomas is crucial for patient management.
  • 68Ga-pentixafor, a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer targeting CXCR4, is being investigated for adrenal imaging.

Observation:

  • Two patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone-independent Cushing syndrome presented with cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas.
  • Intense uptake of 68Ga-pentixafor was observed in the adrenal adenomas of both patients.
  • This suggests a high expression of CXCR4 in these specific types of adrenal tumors.

Findings:

  • 68Ga-pentixafor PET imaging demonstrated significant tracer accumulation in cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas.
  • The observed intense activity correlates with the functional status of the adenomas.
  • This finding supports the potential utility of 68Ga-pentixafor in evaluating adrenal adenoma functionality.

Implications:

  • 68Ga-pentixafor may serve as a valuable non-invasive tool for assessing the functional status of adrenal adenomas.
  • This tracer could aid in the diagnosis and management of conditions like Cushing syndrome.
  • Further research is warranted to validate these findings in larger patient cohorts and different types of adrenal lesions.

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