Rapid predictive dosimetry for radioembolization.

Economics of today's busy clinical practice demand both time and cost-efficient methods of predictive dosimetry for liver radioembolisation. A rapid predictive schema adapted from the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) method i.e., Partition Model, has been devised that can be completed within minutes. This rapid schema may guide institutions that do not have access to software capable of comprehensive auto-segmentation of lung, tumour and non-tumorous liver, or where rigorous artery-specific tomographic predictive dosimetry is unfeasible for the routine clinical workflow. This rapid schema is applicable to any beta-emitting radiomicrosphere, although absorbed dose-response thresholds will differ according to device. Sampling errors in lung, tumour and non-tumorous liver will compound and propagate throughout this schema. This rapid schema achieves efficiency in lieu of accuracy. The user must be mindful of potentially large sampling errors and assumes all responsibility. Any suspicion of significant error requires the user to revert back to standard-of-care methods.

Rapid predictive dosimetry for Second Strike prescription based on whole body radioiodine kinetics in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Objectives: In systemic radionuclide therapy such as radioiodine (I-131) for differentiated thyroid cancer, post-therapy dosimetry is essential to verify pre-therapy predictions, which in turn informs the next treatment. However, post-therapy multi-time point dosimetry is resource intensive and unfeasible in many institutions. We devised a schema of rapid predictive dosimetry by circumventing post-First Strike multi-time point dosimetry with carefully assigned gestalt values of predicted kinetics to personalise the Second Strike prescription. Methods: Verification is performed after the First Strike. Patient-specific time-activity curve is plotted from serial measurements of whole body exposure rates to obtain its decay constant; its inverse is the whole body Time Integrated Activity Coefficient (TIAC). The percentage of whole body TIAC attributed to blood is carefully assigned by gestalt based on population kinetics tabulated in Part 1, adjusted by any metastasis on I-131 whole body scintigraphy. Marrow absorbed dose is calculated by EANM formularism. Lung safety threshold at 48h post-therapy is linearly scaled by height, where the patient's risk of lung radiotoxicity is revealed from the whole body time-activity curve value at 48h. Predictive prescription for the second I-131 fraction (Second Strike) is by careful gestalt assessment based on predicted kinetics, remaining marrow and lung tolerance, marrow dose rate constraint per fraction (0.265 Gy/h), local regulatory and facility requirements in relation to radiation protection. Tumour dosimetry is obviated under the assumption of severe tumour absorbed dose heterogeneity. The final prescription for the Second Strike is usually the lowest I-131 activity amongst all clinical, dosimetric and regulatory constraints. Results: This schema is incorporated into a Predictive Calculator spreadsheet for rapid predictive dosimetry, and is freely available. Calculations may be completed within minutes to generate personalised predictive prescriptions, making it feasible for routine clinical implementation. Conclusion: Our innovative schema of rapid verification and predictive dosimetry bridges the technological gap between empiric vs theranostic prescription to help institutions modernise. Its expeditious design makes this schema feasible to be integrated into the routine clinical workflow. Its predictive estimates provide invaluable dosimetric insight to inform the next I-131 fraction, allowing every prescription to be scientifically rationalised and personalised according to individual circumstances.

A simplified general schema for rapid single time-point marrow predictive dosimetry.

The red marrow is often the dose-limiting organ in systemic radionuclide therapy. However, multi-time-point personalised predictive dosimetry is resource intensive and impractical for routine clinical implementation. Single-time-point methods are a reasonable alternative for streamlining dosimetric workflows. However, there is a lack of single time-point methodology specific for the marrow. A simplified schema for rapid marrow predictive dosimetry is proposed based on direct image quantification of marrow radioconcentration, which may be generalised to most forms of systemic radionuclide therapy.

First Strike personalized predictive radioiodine prescription for inoperable metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer.

Objectives: The traditional practice of empiric radioiodine (I-131) prescription is scientifically obsolete and inappropriate for inoperable metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer. However, theranostically guided prescription is still years away for many institutions. A personalized predictive method of radioiodine prescription that bridges the gap between empiric and theranostic methods is presented. It is an adaptation of the "maximum tolerated activity" method, where serial blood sampling is replaced by population kinetics carefully chosen by the user. It aims to maximize crossfire benefits within safety constraints to overcome tumour absorbed dose heterogeneity for a safe and effective first radioiodine fraction i.e., the First Strike. Methods: The EANM method of blood dosimetry was incorporated with population kinetics, marrow and lung safety constraints, body habitus and clinical assessment of metastatic extent. Population data of whole body and blood kinetics in patients with and without metastases, prepared by recombinant human thyroid stimulating hormone or thyroid hormone withdrawal, and the maximum safe marrow dose rate were deduced from published data. For diffuse lung metastases, the lung safety limit was linearly scaled by height and separated into lung and remainder-of-body components. Results: The slowest whole body Time Integrated Activity Coefficient (TIAC) amongst patients with any metastases was 33.5±17.0 h and the highest percentage of whole body TIAC attributed to blood was 16.6±7.9%, prepared by thyroid hormone withdrawal. A variety of other average radioiodine kinetics is tabulated. Maximum safe marrow dose rate was deduced to be 0.265 Gy/h per fraction, where blood TIAC is normalised to administered activity. An easy-to-use calculator was developed which only requires height, weight and gender to populate recommendations for personalized First Strike prescription. The user decides by clinical gestalt whether the prescription is to be constrained by marrow or lung, then selects an activity depending on how extensive the metastases are likely to be. A Standard Female with oligometastasis and good urine output without diffuse lung metastasis is expected to safely tolerate 8.03 GBq of radioiodine as the First Strike. Conclusion: This predictive method will help institutions rationalise the First Strike prescription based on radiobiologically sound principles, personalised to individual circumstances.

Empiric radioiodine for hyperthyroidism: Outcomes, prescribing patterns, and its place in the modern era of theranostics.

BACKGROUND: The modern era of radioiodine (I-131) theranostics for metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer requires us to rationalize the role of traditional empiric prescription in nonmalignant thyroid disease. We currently practice empiric I-131 prescription for treatment of hyperthyroidism. This study aims to assess outcomes after treatment of hyperthyroidism by empiric I-131 prescription at our centre, evaluate factors that impact on outcomes and prescribing practice, and gain insight into whether there is a place for theranostically-guided prescription in hyperthyroidism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was undertaken of all patients with Graves' disease, toxic multinodular goitre (MNG) and toxic adenoma treated with I-131 between 2016 and 2021. Associations between clinical or scintigraphic variables and remission (euthyroid or hypothyroid) or persistence of hyperthyroidism at follow-up were performed using standard t test as well as Pearson's product correlation. RESULTS: Of 146 patients with a mean follow-up of 13.6 months, 80.8% achieved remission of hyperthyroidism. This was highest in toxic nodules (90.1%), compared with Graves' disease (73.8%) and toxic MNG (75.5%). In patients with Graves' disease, higher administered activity was associated with remission (p = .035). There was a weak inverse correlation between the Tc-99m pertechnetate uptake vs prescribed activity in Graves' disease (r = -0.33; p = .009). Only one patient (0.7%) had an I-131 induced flare of thyrotoxicosis. CONCLUSION: Traditional empiric I-131 prescription is a safe and effective treatment of hyperthyroidism and suitable for most patients. However, there may be a role for personalized I-131 prescription by theranostic guidance in selected patients with high thyroid hyperactivity.

Indirect Lung Absorbed Dose Verification by 90Y PET/CT and Complete Lung Protection by Hepatic Vein Balloon Occlusion: Proof of Concept.

Postradioembolization lung absorbed dose verification was historically problematic and impractical in clinical practice. We devised an indirect method using 90Y PET/CT. Methods: Conceptually, true lung activity is simply the difference between the total prepared activity minus all activity below the diaphragm and residual activity within delivery apparatus. Patient-specific lung mass is measured by CT densitovolumetry. True lung mean absorbed dose is calculated by MIRD macrodosimetry. Results: Proof of concept is shown in a hepatocellular carcinoma patient with a high lung shunt fraction of 26%, where evidence of technically successful hepatic vein balloon occlusion for radioembolization lung protection was required. Indirect lung activity quantification showed the postradioembolization lung shunt fraction to be reduced to approximately 1% with a true lung mean absorbed dose of approximately 1 Gy, suggesting complete lung protection by hepatic vein balloon occlusion. Conclusion: We discuss possible clinical applications such as lung absorbed dose verification, refining the limits of lung tolerance, and the concept of massive activity radioembolization.

Brain hypometabolism in rare genetic neurodegenerative disease: Niemann-Pick disease type C, spinocerebellar ataxia and Huntington disease assessed by FDG PET.

Brain metabolic imaging using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with contemporaneous low-dose CT may be used to assess neurodegenerative diseases. In contrast to oncology whole-body FDG PET, qualitative assessment alone in brain FDG PET is subjective and vulnerable to visual interference due to high physiologic background activity. Therefore, mild changes in brain metabolism may be visually undetectable by qualitative interpretation alone, resulting in diagnostic inaccuracy. To overcome this, some institutions may employ an objective comparison to a normal reference database. To date, there is limited literature describing brain metabolic changes in rare genetic neurodegenerative diseases such as Niemann-Pick disease Type C, spinocerebellar ataxia and Huntington disease. In this case series, we illustrate the typical FDG PET findings in the cortex and deep grey matter for these rare diseases, utilising normal database comparison including three dimensional Stereotactic Surface Projection (3D-SSP) mapping. These comparisons can generate 3D-SSP maps where metabolic changes may be expressed in standard deviations from normal (z-score) and visually depicted in a scale of colours to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Brain hypometabolic changes in 14 adolescent-adult patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C assessed by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

OBJECTIVE: Niemann Pick disease type C (NPC) is a rare progressive neurovisceral lysosomal disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the NPC1 or NPC2 genes. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is a positron-emitting glucose analogue for non-invasive imaging of brain metabolism. FDG PET is commonly used for dementia imaging but its specific application to NPC is rarely described. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of all baseline brain FDG PET performed for NPC patients. Images were assessed using a normal database statistical comparison of metabolic changes expressed in standard deviations and three-dimensional Stereotactic Surface Projection maps. Typical hypometabolic patterns in NPC were identified. We further investigated any correlation between the degree of regional brain hypometabolism and the Iturriaga clinical severity scale. RESULTS: Brain FDG PET images of 14 adolescent-adult NPC patients were analysed, with mean age of 35 years. We found significant frontal lobe hypometabolism in 12 patients (86%), thalamic hypometabolism in eight patients (57%) and variable parietal lobe hypometabolism in 13 patients (93%). Hypometabolic changes were usually bilateral and symmetric. Ten out of 13 ataxic patients showed cerebellar or thalamic hypometabolism (sensitivity 77%, specificity 100%). Linear regression analysis showed frontal lobe hypometabolism to have the best correlation with the Iturriaga clinical scale (R2 = 0.439; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found bilateral symmetric hypometabolism of the frontal lobes, thalami and parietal lobes (especially posterior cingulate gyrus) to be typical of adolescent-adult NPC. Ataxia was commonly associated with cerebellar or thalamic hypometabolism. Frontal lobe hypometabolism showed the best inverse correlation with clinical severity.

Light-Induced Histidine Adducts to an IgG1 Molecule Via Oxidized Histidine Residue and the Potential Impact of Polysorbate-20 Concentration.

PURPOSE: Histidine (His) undergoes light-induced reactions such as oxidation, crosslinking and addition. These reactions are initiated by singlet oxygen (1O2) to generate His photo-oxidation products, which are subject to nucleophilic attack by a non-oxidized His residue from another protein or by nucleophilic buffer components such as Tris and His. This report aims to identify light-induced His-adducts to a monoclonal antibody (mAb-1) due to the reaction of His molecules in the buffer with the photooxidized His residues under ICH light conditions. Since polysorbate-20 (PS-20) is a commonly used excipient in biotherapeutics formulation, it is also important to study the impact of PS-20 concentration on protein photostability. RESULTS: We identified and characterized light-induced His-adducts of mAb-1 by LC-MS/MS. We showed that the levels of light-induced His-adducts generally correlate with the solvent accessibility of His residues in the protein. In addition, the presence of PS-20 at concentrations commonly used in protein drug formulations can significantly increase the levels of light-induced His-adducts. CONCLUSIONS: Since His residues are present in a conserved region in the Fc domain, and may be present in the complementarity-determining region (CDR), the impact on the biological functions of the His-adducts observed here should be further studied to evaluate the risk of their presence.

Dose-response for yttrium-90 resin microsphere radioembolisation.

The fundamental premise of yttrium-90 radioembolisation is to balance safety with efficacy. To achieve this, dose-response guidance must be provided. This is a tabulation of published data of key dose-response metrics for yttrium-90 resin microsphere radioembolisation of liver malignancies. Metrics are expressed in terms of mean radiation absorbed doses (Gy), dose-volume histograms, Biologically Effective Doses, Normal Tissue Complication Probability and Tumour Control Probability.

90Y PET for Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Residual Activity in Delivery Apparatus After Radioembolization.

Assessment of residual activity is critical for quality assurance after 90Y radioembolization. The resin microsphere manufacturer's indirect method of estimating the residual activity is laborious and vulnerable to inaccuracies. Furthermore, the method cannot localize the exact site of residual activity. 90Y PET/CT for qualitative and quantitative assessment of residual activity has not, to our knowledge, been described. We show an example of 90Y PET/CT of residual activity in the delivery apparatus and catheters packed inside the delivery box. Focally intense residual activity was clearly localized to the stopcock junction. Residual activity was directly quantified by setting the PET volume-of-interest isocontour threshold to 1%.

Probing the Impact of the Knob-into-Hole Mutations on the Structure and Function of a Therapeutic Antibody.

Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) have drawn increasing interest in the biopharmaceutical industry due to their advantage to bind two distinct antigens simultaneously. The knob-into-hole approach is an effective way to produce bispecific antibodies by driving heterodimerization with mutations in the CH3 domain of each half antibody. To better understand the conformational impact by the knob and hole mutations, we combined size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (H/D exchange MS), to characterize the global and peptide-level conformational changes. We found no significant alteration in structure or conformational dynamics induced by the knob-into-hole framework, and the conformational stability is similar to the wild-type (WT) IgG4 molecules (except for some small difference in the CH3 domain) expressed in E. coli. Functional studies including antigen-binding and neonatal fragment crystallizable (Fc) receptor (FcRn) binding demonstrated no difference between the knob-into-hole and WT IgG4 molecules in E. coli.

Light-Induced Covalent Buffer Adducts to Histidine in a Model Protein.

PURPOSE: Light is known to induce histidine (His) oxidation and His-His crosslinking in proteins. The crosslinking is resulted from the nucleophilic attack of a His to a photooxidized His from another protein. The goal of this work is to understand if covalent buffer adducts on His residues can be generated by light through similar mechanisms in nucleophilic buffers such as Tris and His. METHODS: A model protein (DNase) was buffer exchanged into nucleophilic buffers before light exposure. Photogenerated products were characterized by tryptic peptide mapping with mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Several buffer adductions on His residues were identified after light exposure. To understand the influencing factors of such reactions, the levels of adducts were measured for six nucleophilic buffers on all His residues in DNase. RESULTS: The levels of adducts were found to correlate with the solvent accessibility of the His residue. The levels of adducts also correlate with the structure of the nucleophile, especially the steric restrictions of the nucleophile. The levels of adducts can be higher than that of other His photoreaction products, including photooxidation and crosslinking. CONCLUSIONS: In nucleophilic buffers, light can induce covalently-linked adducts to His residues.

Recommendations for radioembolisation after liver surgery using yttrium-90 resin microspheres based on a survey of an international expert panel.

INTRODUCTION: Guidelines on how to adjust activity in patients with a history of liver surgery who are undergoing yttrium-90 radioembolisation (90Y-RE) are lacking. The aim was to study the variability in activity prescription in these patients, between centres with extensive experience using resin microspheres 90Y-RE, and to draw recommendations on activity prescription based on an expert consensus. METHODS: The variability in activity prescription between centres was investigated by a survey of international experts in the field of 90Y-RE. Six representative post-surgical patients (i.e. comparable activity prescription, different outcome) were selected. Information on patients' disease characteristics and data needed for activity calculation was presented to the expert panel. Reported was the used method for activity prescription and whether, how and why activity reduction was found indicated. RESULTS: Ten experts took part in the survey. Recommendations on activity reduction were highly variable between the expert panel. The median intra-patient range was 44 Gy (range 18-55 Gy). Reductions in prescribed activity were recommended in 68% of the cases. In consensus, a maximum DTarget of 50 Gy was recommended. CONCLUSION: With a current lack of guidelines, large variability in activity prescription in post-surgical patients undergoing 90Y-RE exists. In consensus, DTarget ≤50 Gy is recommended. KEY POINTS: • BSA method does not account for a decreased remnant liver volume after surgery. • In post-surgical patients, a volume-based activity determination method is recommended. • In post-surgical patients, a mean D Target of ≤ 50Gy should be aimed for.

Structure-Based Correlation of Light-Induced Histidine Reactivity in A Model Protein.

Light is known to induce covalently linked aggregates in proteins. These aggregates can be immunogenic and are of concern for drug product development in the biotechnology industry. Histidine (His) is proposed to be a key residue in cross-link generation ( Pattison , D. I. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 2012 , 11 , 38 - 53 ). However, the factors that influence the reactivity of His in proteins, especially the intrinsic factors are little known. Here, we used rhDNase, which only forms His-His covalent dimers after light treatment to determine the factors that influence the light-induced reactivity of His. This system allowed us to fully characterize the light-induced covalent dimer and rank the reactivities of the His residues in this protein. The reactivities of these His residues were correlated with solvent accessibility-related parameters both by crystal structure-based calculations of solvent-accessible surface area and by hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) experiments. Through this correlation, we demonstrate that the photoreactivity of His is determined by both solvent accessibility and structural flexibility. This new insight can explain the highly complex chemistry of light-induced aggregation and help predict the aggregation propensity of protein under light treatment.

Yttrium-90 hepatic radioembolization: clinical review and current techniques in interventional radiology and personalized dosimetry.

In recent years, yttrium-90 ((90)Y) microsphere radioembolization has been establishing itself as a safe and efficacious treatment for both primary and metastatic liver cancers. This extends to both first-line therapies as well as in the salvage setting. In addition, radioembolization appears efficacious for patients with portal vein thrombosis, which is currently a contraindication for surgery, transplantation and transarterial chemoembolization. This article reviews the efficacy and expanding use of (90)Y microsphere radioembolization with an added emphasis on recent advances in personalized dosimetry and interventional radiology techniques. Directions for future research into combination therapies with radioembolization and expansion into sites other than the liver are also explored.