Radiopharmaceuticals for Pancreatic Imaging

Abstract

Over the past few decades cancer of the pancreas has emerged as one of the most important neoplasias in human beings. It now accounts for approximately 20,000 deaths annually in the United States. Diseases of the pancreas are difficult to diagnose by standard clinical or medical imaging techniques. In spite of the introduction of the CT scanner and ultrasonography, there is a lack of suitable diagnostic agents for pancreatic carcinoma which is the most difficult abdominal tumor to diagnose and, in only 30% of autopsied cases, the clinical diagnosis was correct. As the existing diagnostic procedures confirm the pathological condition too late for proper treatment, the prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma is poor.

In 1929 acid dyes such as acid fuchsin, fast yellow fluorescein and methyl orange. and basic dyes such as basic fuchsin, methylene blue, rhodomin B. safarino and safrin extra bluish were used to measure pancreatic function, as these dyes concentrated moderately selectively in the pancreas.

In this paper, radioisotope labeled agents such as

³⁵S-methionine,⁷⁵Seselenomethionine, ¹¹C-methionine radioiodine labeled paraiodo-phenyl alanine, ⁹⁹mTc-labeled methionine, ¹³¹Cs-cesium acetate, etc. used to image the pancreas will be presented.