Accuracy and reproducibility of simplified QSPECT dosimetry for personalized (177)Lu-octreotate PRRT

BACKGROUND: Routine dosimetry is essential for personalized (177)Lu-octreotate peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), but practical and robust dosimetry methods are needed for wide clinical adoption. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and inter-observer reproducibility of simplified dosimetry protocols based on quantitative single-photon emission computed tomography (QSPECT) with a limited number of scanning time points. We also updated our personalized injected activity (IA) prescription scheme. METHODS: Seventy-nine NET patients receiving (177)Lu-octreotate therapy (with a total of 279 therapy cycles) were included in our study. Three-time-point (3TP; days 0, 1, and 3) QSPECT scanning was performed following each therapy administration. Dosimetry was obtained using small volumes of interest activity concentration sampling for the kidney, the bone marrow and the tumor having the most intense uptake. Accuracy of the simplified dosimetry based on two-time-point (2TP; days 1 and 3, monoexponential fit) or a single-time-point (1TP(D3); day 3) scanning was assessed, as well as that of hybrid methods based on 2TP for the first cycle and 1TP (day 1 or 3; 2TP/1TP(D1) and 2TP/1TP(D3), respectively) or no imaging at all (based on IA only; 2TP/no imaging (NI)) for the subsequent induction cycles. The inter-observer agreement was evaluated for the 3TP, 2TP, and hybrid 2TP/1TP(D3) methods using a subset of 60 induction cycles (15 patients). The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), body size descriptors (weight, body surface area (BSA), lean body weight (LBW)), and products of both were assessed for their ability to predict IA per renal absorbed dose at the first cycle. RESULTS: The 2TP dosimetry estimates correlated highly with those from the 3TP data for all tissues (Spearman r > 0.99, P < 0.0001) with small relative errors between the methods, particularly for the kidney and the tumor, with median relative errors not exceeding 2% and interdecile ranges spanning over less than 6% and 4%, respectively, for the per-cycle and cumulative estimates. For the bone marrow, the errors were slightly greater (median errors < 6%, interdecile ranges < 14%). Overall, the strength of correlations of the absorbed dose estimates from the simplified methods with those from the 3TP scans tended to progressively decrease, and the relative errors to increase, in the following order: 2TP, 2TP/1TP(D3), 1TP(D3), 2TP/1TP(D1), and 2TP/NI. For the tumor, the 2TP/NI scenario was highly inaccurate due to the interference of the therapeutic response. There was an excellent inter-observer agreement between the three observers, in particular for the renal absorbed dose estimated using the 3TP and 2TP methods, with mean errors lesser than 1% and standard deviations of 5% or lower. The eGFR · LBW and eGFR · BSA products best predicted the ratio of IA to the renal dose (GBq/Gy) for the first cycle (Spearman r = 0.41 and 0.39, respectively; P < 0.001). For the first cycle, the personalized IA proportional to eGFR · LBW or eGFR · BSA decreased the range of delivered renal absorbed dose between patients as compared with the fixed IA. For the subsequent cycles, the optimal personalized IA could be determined based on the prior cycle renal GBq/Gy with an error of less than 21% in 90% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: A simplified dosimetry protocol based on two-time-point QSPECT scanning on days 1 and 3 post-PRRT provides reproducible and more accurate dose estimates than the techniques relying on a single time point for non-initial or all cycles and results in limited patient inconvenience as compared to protocols involving scanning at later time points. Renal absorbed dose over the 4-cycle induction PRRT course can be standardized by personalizing IA based on the product of eGFR with LBW or BSA for the first cycle and on prior renal dosimetry for the subsequent cycles.