Production and dosimetric aspects of the potent Auger emitter {sup 58m}Co for targeted radionuclide therapy of small tumors
- PET and Cyclotron Unit, Nuclear Medicine Department, Odense University Hospital, Sdr. Boulevard 29, DK-5000 Odense, Denmark and Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Winsloewparken 19, DK-5000 Odense (Denmark)
Purpose: Based on theoretical calculations, the Auger emitter {sup 58m}Co has been identified as a potent nuclide for targeted radionuclide therapy of small tumors. During the production of this isotope, the coproduction of the long-lived ground state {sup 58g}Co is unfortunately unavoidable, as is ingrowth of the ground state following the isomeric decay of {sup 58m}Co. The impact of {sup 58g}Co as a {beta}{sup +}- and {gamma}-emitting impurity should be included in the dosimetric analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate this critical part of dosimetry based on experimentally determined production yields of {sup 58m}Co and {sup 58g}Co using a low-energy cyclotron. Also, the cellular S-values for {sup 58m}Co have been calculated and are presented here for the first time. Methods: {sup 58m}Co was produced via the {sup 58}Fe(p,n){sup 58m}Co nuclear reaction on highly enriched {sup 58}Fe metal. In addition, radiochemical separations of produced radio-cobalt from {sup nat}Fe target material were performed. The theoretical subcellular dosimetry calculations for {sup 58m}Co and {sup 58g}Co were performed using the MIRD formalism, and the impact of the increasing ground state impurity on the tumor-to-normal-tissue dose ratios (TND) per disintegration as a function of time after end of bombardment (EOB) was calculated. Results: 192 {+-} 8 MBq of {sup 58m}Co was produced in the irradiation corresponding to a production yield of 10.7 MBq/{mu}Ah. The activity of {sup 58g}Co was measured to be 0.85% {+-} 0.04% of the produced {sup 58m}Co activity at EOB. The radio-cobalt yields in the rapid separations were measured to be >97% with no detectable iron contaminations in the cobalt fractions. Due to the unavoidable coproduction and ingrowth of the long-lived ground state {sup 58g}Co, the TND and the potency of the {sup 58m}Co decrease with time after EOB. If a future treatment with a {sup 58m}Co labeled compound is not initiated before, e.g., 21 h after EOB, the resulting TND will be approximately 50% of the TND of 'pure'{sup 58m}Co as a result of the increased normal tissue dose from the ground state. Conclusions: The Auger emitter {sup 58m}Co is a potent radioisotope for targeted radionuclide therapy, and the production of therapeutic quantities should be achievable using a small biomedical cyclotron. However, the unavoidable coproduction and ingrowth of the long-lived ground state {sup 58g}Co requires fast radiochemical processing and use of future {sup 58m}Co-labeled radiopharmaceuticals in order to exploit the high achievable TND of {sup 58m}Co.
- OSTI ID:
- 22100595
- Journal Information:
- Medical Physics, Vol. 38, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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