Pancreatic uptake and radiation dosimetry of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA from PET imaging studies in infants with congenital hyperinsulinism

The aim of this study is to assess the radiation absorbed dose of F-18-Fluoro-L-DOPA derived from the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images of infants age ranging from 2 weeks 32 weeks and a median age of 4.84 weeks (Mean 10.0 +/- 10.3 weeks) with congenital hyperinsulinism. Methods After injecting 25.6 +/- 8.8 MBq (0.7 +/- 0.2 mCi) of F-18-Fluoro-L-DOPA intravenously, three static PET scans were acquired at 20, 30, and 40 min post injection in 3-D mode on 10 patients (6 male, 4 female) with congenital hyperinsulinism. Regions of interest (ROls) were drawn over several organs visible in the reconstructed PET/CT images and time activity curves (TACs) were generated. Residence times were calculated using the TAC data. The radiation absorbed dose for the whole body was calculated by entering the residence times in the OLINDA/EXM 1.0 software. Results The mean residence times for the 18F-Fluoro-L-DOPA in the liver, lungs, kidneys, muscles, and pancreas were 11.54 +/- 2.84, 1.25 +/- 0.38, 4.65 +/- 0.97, 17.13 +/- 2.62, and 0.89 +/- 0.34 min, respectively. The mean effective dose equivalent for 18F-Fluoro-L-DOPA was 0.40 +/- 0.04 mSv/MBq. The CT scan used for attenuation correction delivered an additional radiation dose of 5.7 mSv. The organs receiving the highest radiation absorbed dose from F-18-Fluoro-L-DOPA were the urinary bladder wall (2.76 +/- 0.95 mGy/MBq), pancreas (0.87 0.30 mGy/MBq), liver (0.34 +/- 0.07 mGy/MBq), and kidneys (0.61 +/- 0.11 mGy/MBq). The renal system was the primary route for the radioactivity clearance and excretion. Conclusions The estimated radiation dose burden from F-18-Fluoro-L-DOPA is relatively modest to newborns.