Cancer Research UK procedures in manufacture and toxicology of radiotracers intended for pre-phase I positron emission tomography studies in cancer patients

Abstract

Radiolabelled compounds formulated for injection (radiopharmaceuticals), are increasingly being employed in drug development studies. These can be used in tracer amounts for either pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic studies. Such radiotracer studies can also be carried out early in man, even prior to conventional Phase I clinical testing. The aim of this document is to describe procedures for production and safety testing of oncology radiotracers developed for imaging by positron emission tomography in cancer patients. We propose strategies for overcoming the inability to produce compounds in sufficient quantities via the radiosynthetic routes for full chemical characterisation and toxicology testing including (i) independent confirmation as far as possible that the stable compound associated with the radiopharmaceutical is identical to the non-labelled compound, (ii) animal toxicity studies with > or = 10 times (typically 100 times) the intended tracer dose in humans scaled by body surface area, and (iii) patient monitoring during the radiotracer positron emission tomography clinical trial.