Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly and specifically upregulated in active-inflamed mucosa of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We hypothesized that this upregulation would be detectable using a PSMA-targeted positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging agent, [18F]DCFPyL, enabling non-invasive visualization of inflammation. A noninvasive means of detecting active inflammation would have high clinical value in localization and management of IBD.
We performed [18F]DCFPyL imaging in three IBD patients with active disease. Abnormally increased gastrointestinal [18F]DCFPyL uptake was observed in areas with endoscopic, histologic, and immunohistochemical inflammation, demonstrating partial overlap of segments of bowel with abnormal [18F]DCFPyL uptake and active inflammation.
This study demonstrates that PSMA-targeted [18F]DCFPyL PET can effectively detect regions of inflamed mucosa in patients with IBD, suggesting its utility as a non-invasive imaging agent to assess location, extent, and disease activity in IBD.
Clinical and experimental gastroenterology. 2023 Dec 08*** epublish ***
Mohamed Saleh Ismail, Diane E Peters, Steven P Rowe, Ali Salavati, Sowmya Sharma, Robert A Anders, Martin Pomper, Barbara S Slusher, Florin M Selaru
Division of Gastroenterology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA., Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA., Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA., Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA., The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.