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Published on: April 24, 2020
[Anticipating Criteria for Discharge after Lu-177-PSMA Treatment - Discussion of Several Scenarios]
Wolfgang Tilman Kranert1, Benjamin Bockisch1, Jennifer Wichert1
1University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Aim:
The aim is to add a pragmatic contribution to the discussion of an algorithm to discharge patients treated with Lu-177-PSMA under the aspect of radiation protection. This also may be applied to therapies with other radioactive tracers in the future.
Material And Methods:
478 cycles of Lu-177-PSMA-617 (140 patients) were analyzed. The remaining activity in the patient and the dose rate were correlated. From frequent intratherapeutic measurements (biexponential fit) scenarios for discharging patients are deduced.
Results:
Thirty-four per cent of all patients treated with Lu-177-PSMA received 3 to 5 cycles per calendar year. The dose limit of 1 mSv per calendar year (German Law) at a distance of 2 m from the patient would be exceeded in 10 % and 15 % of the treated patients if discharged 72 hours after treatment given 3 and 4 cycles per calendar year, respectively. Mean specific dose rate was 0.00462µSv/(h MBq) at a distance of 1 m. A universal correlation between dose rate and the remaining activity in the patient could not be found.
Conclusion:
The multi cycle concept of the therapies with Lu-177 PSMA has to be taken into account prospectively when discharging the patients. Given the physical half-life of Lu-177 an anticipation of 4 treatment cycles per calendar year leads to a clearly arranged, conservative rule.

