“An investigational new PET radiotracer guided more curative surgeries than standard imaging methods for patients with primary hyperparathyroidism,” writes Will Morton of AuntMinne, based on research published online in Surgery on July 21, 2021.

The new radiotracer, 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) was used with PET for a first-of-its-kind study in the US, for guiding parathyroid surgery in patients with cancer. “Long-term results in the first cohort in the United States to use 18F-fluorocholine positron emission tomography for parathyroid localization confirm its utility in a challenging cohort, with better sensitivity than ultrasound or sestamibi,” concluded Claire Graves, M.D, and her team.

“Graves and colleagues found that F-18 FCH-PET localized at least one cancer lesion in 93% of patients overall and in 91% of patients with previously negative imaging, leading to a change in preoperative strategy in 60% of patients. Of 76 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy, 58 (77%) had laboratory data at least six months afterward, with 55 out of 58 of these patients (95%) demonstrating cure,” reports Morton.

Although not approved by the U.S. FDA, nor widely available, an ongoing phase II trial is ongoing and expected to be completed by December 2021. Costs are not yet know, but will likely be expensive, reports Morton citing the authors.

“‘Future analysis of the added value and cost-effectiveness of FCH PET will be crucial to define the role of this imaging in patient care,’ Graves et al concluded,” according to Morton.

Sources:

“FCH-PET shines in guiding parathyroid surgery” Will Morton AuntMinnie.com Available July 27, 2021. Accessed August 5, 2021.

Claire E. Graves, MD, Thomas A. Hope, MD, Jina Kim, MD, Miguel H. Pampaloni, MD, PhD, Wouter Kluijfhout, MD, PhD, Carolyn D. Seib, MD, MAS, Jessica E. Gosnell, MD, Wen T. Shen, MD, Sanziana A. Roman, MD, Julie A. Sosa, MD, MA, Quan-Yang Duh, MD, Insoo Suh, MD
“Superior sensitivity of 18F-fluorocholine: PET localization in primary hyperparathyroidism”
Published:July 20, 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2021.05.056 Accessed: August 5, 2021.