Imaging for staging bladder cancer: a clinical study of (111)indium-labelled anti-MUC1 mucin intravenous monoclonal antibody C595

Objective To investigate the clinical application of an In-111-labelled ant i-MUC1 mucin monoclonal antibody (mAb) imaging for staging invasive bladder cancer. Patients and methods Indirect immunohistochemistry was used to confirm the expression of the MUC1 target antigen by metastatic tumours, Twelve patient s with bladder cancer (two with superficial and 10 with locally invasive/me tastatic disease) underwent planar gamma -scintigraphy 48 h after an intrav enous injection with In-111-labelled anti-MUC1 mucin mAb C595, Results No bladder uptake was detected in the two patients with superficial disease, but scintigraphy showed primary and recurrent bladder tumours and metastases in nine of the remaining 10 patients with invasive disease. In three patients additional staging information was obtained from the mAb ima ging which would have altered patient management, There were no reported si de-effects, Conclusion This study confirmed the ability of the mAb technique to detect both primary and recurrent invasive bladder tumours and distant metastases. Some lesions shown by mAb imaging were not detected by other methods. The use of mAb imaging has the potential to improve clinical staging and assist in selecting those patients most likely to benefit from radical therapy.