Background
Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is overexpressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and is associated with aggressive tumor behavior, treatment resistance and overall poor outcomes. DPI-4452 is a first-in-class, cyclic peptide that binds with high affinity to CA IX. Radiolabeling DPI-4452 with gallium-68 ([68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452) or lutetium-177 ([177Lu]Lu-DPI-4452) is an innovative, theranostic approach for identifying and treating patients with CA IX-expressing tumors. Compared with existing antibody approaches, a radiolabeled peptide may confer better characteristics for both PET-CT imaging and therapy. This first-in-human study (NCT05706129) is evaluating the theranostic potential of [68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452 and [177Lu]Lu-DPI-4452 in patients with unresectable metastatic ccRCC, colorectal cancer or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors. Here we report safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, dosimetry and imaging characteristics of [68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452 from the completed ccRCC imaging cohort.
Methods
The DPI-4452 peptide contains a DOTA cage and is radiolabelled with [68Ga]Ga. Following intravenous injection of [68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452, patients underwent serial PET-CT imaging, urine and blood sampling to assess imaging characteristics, biodistribution, and dosimetry of [68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452. Patients were followed for 7 days post-injection for safety observations.
Results
A mean activity of 185 MBq [68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452 was administered to 3 patients with ccRCC. No clinically significant toxicities were observed. PET-CT images showed rapid and sustained tumor uptake over 4 h, as well as rapid renal elimination. At 1 h, the maximum tumor standardized uptake value (SUVmax) across 36 lesions ranged from 6.8 to 211.6, with a mean of 64.6. Seventeen of these lesions (found in lymph nodes, lung, pancreas, parotid gland and other sites) were not detectable on prior contrast-enhanced CT. OLINDA dosimetry estimates revealed that the organs receiving the highest absorbed doses (mean [SD] mGy/MBq) were stomach wall (0.33 [0.10]), small intestine wall (0.33 [0.08]) and gallbladder wall (0.21 [0.12]), with a mean whole body effective dose of 0.06 [0.02] mSv/MBq. Absorbed doses in the kidney, liver and bone marrow were low. Over 80% of total administered radioactivity cleared from the bloodstream within 1 h.
Conclusions
[68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452 provides exceptional images in patients with ccRCC without clinically significant toxicity. Very high SUVs and tumor-to-background ratios suggest potential for use in both diagnostics and patient selection for therapy. The tumor retention and rapid elimination support potential of [177Lu]Lu-DPI-4452 radioligand therapy. Clinical trial information: NCT05706129.