Radiation dosimetry, pharmacokinetics, and safety of ultratrace Iobenguane I-131 in patients with malignant pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma or metastatic carcinoid.

This is a first of many phase 1 study of Ultratrace Iobenguane I-131 (Ultratrace 131I-MIBG; Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA). High-specific-activity Ultratrace 131I-MIBG may provide improved efficacy and tolerability over carrier-added 131I-MIBG. We investigated the pharmacokinetics (PK), radiation dosimetry, and clinical safety in 11 patients with confirmed pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (Pheo) or carcinoid tumors. A single 5.0-mCi (185 MBq) injection of Ultratrace 131I-MIBG, supplemented with 185 microg of unlabeled MIBG to simulate the amount of MIBG anticipated in a therapeutic dose, was administered. Over 120 hours postdose, blood and urine were collected for PK, and sequential whole-body planar imaging was performed. Patients were followed for adverse events for 2 weeks. Ultratrace 131I-MIBG is rapidly cleared from the blood and excreted in urine (80.3% +/- 2.8% of dose at 120 hours). For a therapeutic administration of 500 mCi (18.5 GBq), our estimate of the projected dose is 1.4 Gy for marrow and 10.4 Gy for kidneys. Safety results showed 12 mild adverse events, all considered unrelated to study drug, in 8 of 11 patients. These findings support the further development of Ultratrace 131I-MIBG for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, such as metastatic Pheo and carcinoid.