A pharmacological guide to medicines which interfere with the biodistribution of radiolabelled meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG).

Radiolabelled meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is widely used in the diagnosis, follow-up and treatment of patients with tumours of neural crest origin. Some commonly prescribed and readily available over-the-counter medicines interfere with the uptake and biodistribution of this radiopharmaceutical. This may lead to poor concentration of radiolabelled MIBG within the target organs and tissues. The clinical implications are a potentially inaccurate assessment of tumour burden during diagnostic studies and a suboptimal radiation dose when MIBG is employed for targetted radiotherapy. In order to avoid false negative results a comprehensive list of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines that have the potential to inhibit uptake of MIBG has been compiled. It is hoped that this will help nuclear medicine physicians to avoid this pitfall.