CLINICAL-EXPERIENCE WITH TC-99M NOFETUMOMAB MERPENTAN (VERLUMA) RADIOIMMUNOSCINTIGRAPHY

Tc-99m nofetumomab merpentan (Verluma), consisting of a Fab fragment o f the pancarcinoma murine antibody NR-LU-10, has been previously evalu ated as a diagnostic imaging agent in staging patients with lung cance r, The authors have taken advantage of the pancarcinoma reactivity of this antibody to select patients with a variety of carcinomas for radi oimmunotherapy trials, These have included gastrointestinal, breast, o vary, pancreas, kidney, cervix, and bladder carcinoma, This article do cuments the range of tumor types and locations that can be identified by gamma camera imaging with this radioimmunoconjugate. Tumor was posi tively identified in 92% of 107 patients studied, In 15 patients, the images led to suspicion of previously unknown disease, The authors con clude that this radioimmunoconjugate is useful in assessing patients w ith advanced disease, Additional studies may be warranted to explore f urther the potential benefit of this diagnostic imaging agent in evalu ating the extent of disease in patients with a variety of carcinomas.