Feasibility of fluorescence imaging at microdosing using a hybrid PSMA tracer during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in a large animal model
EJNMMI Research March 13, 2022 Paolo Dell’Oglio, Danny M. van Willigen, Matthias N. van Oosterom et al.
Using a porcine model and ex vivo human prostate cancer specimens, a hybrid PSMA tracer (99mTc-EuK-(SO3)Cy5-mas3) administered at a microdosing regime enabled fluorescence-guided robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. In pigs, the prostate gland was visualized based on basal PSMA expression, and tracer half-lives in blood and urine were 85 and 390 minutes, respectively, suggesting an interval of over 7 hours between administration and surgery. Ex vivo fluorescence imaging of human prostate cancer specimens correlated with PSMA immunohistochemistry, confirming tumor identification. The findings indicate that intraoperative PSMA-mediated fluorescence imaging with a microdosing approach is feasible and has translational potential.