Impact of Tumor Burden on Normal Organ Distribution in Patients Imaged with CXCR4-Targeted [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT

CXCR4-directed positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been used as a diagnostic tool in patients with solid tumors. We aimed to determine a potential correlation between tumor burden and radiotracer accumulation in normal organs.

Ninety patients with histologically proven solid cancers underwent CXCR4-targeted [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT. Volumes of interest (VOIs) were placed in normal organs (heart, liver, spleen, bone marrow, and kidneys) and tumor lesions. Mean standardized uptake values (SUV_mean) for normal organs were determined. For CXCR4-positive tumor burden, maximum SUV (SUV_max), tumor volume (TV), and fractional tumor activity (FTA, defined as SUV_mean x TV), were calculated. We used a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ) to derive correlative indices between normal organ uptake and tumor burden.

Median SUV_mean in unaffected organs was 5.2 for the spleen (range, 2.44 - 10.55), 3.27 for the kidneys (range, 1.52 - 17.4), followed by bone marrow (1.76, range, 0.84 - 3.98), heart (1.66, range, 0.88 - 2.89), and liver (1.28, range, 0.73 - 2.45). No significant correlation between SUV_max in tumor lesions (ρ ≤ 0.189, P ≥ 0.07), TV (ρ ≥ -0.204, P ≥ 0.06) or FTA (ρ ≥ -0.142, P ≥ 0.18) with the investigated organs was found.

In patients with solid tumors imaged with [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT, no relevant tumor sink effect was noted. This observation may be of relevance for therapies with radioactive and non-radioactive CXCR4-directed drugs, as with increasing tumor burden, the dose to normal organs may remain unchanged.