# 18F-MFBG PET replacing 123I-MIBG scintigraphy

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-mfbg-pet-replaces-mibg/  
OnCo record `idea-mfbg-pet-replaces-mibg` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A same-day PET tracer could replace the two-day, low-resolution MIBG scan children now undergo repeatedly.

## Summary

Children with neuroblastoma repeatedly undergo 123I-MIBG scintigraphy, a two-day, low-resolution scan, and this idea proposes replacing it with same-day 18F-MFBG PET. 18F-meta-fluorobenzylguanidine uses the same norepinephrine-transporter biology as MIBG but gains PET resolution and 18F logistics, needs no sedation across two days, and early data show higher lesion detection. The hypothesis is that MFBG PET/CT detects more lesions than MIBG SPECT with equal specificity, and that Curie-type scoring on MFBG predicts outcome at least as well. Prospective paired comparisons are under way at MSK and in COG imaging studies and an NDA is in progress; at an early clinical stage, it sits within the paediatric oncology roadmap alongside the MIBG theranostics and PET records.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Hypothesis: 18F-MFBG PET/CT detects more lesions than 123I-MIBG SPECT with equal specificity, and Curie-type scoring on MFBG predicts outcome at least as well.
- Rationale: MFBG uses the same norepinephrine-transporter biology as MIBG but with PET resolution and 18F logistics.
- Proposed test: Paired prospective comparison in newly diagnosed and relapsed patients; response prediction analysis.
- Maturity: early-clinical

## Sources

- Pandit-Taskar et al., Biodistribution and dosimetry of 18F-meta-fluorobenzylguanidine: a first-in-human PET study (Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2017): https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.117.193169

## Connected records

- cancers: [High-risk neuroblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma-high-risk/), [Intermediate-risk neuroblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma-intermediate-risk/), [Low-risk neuroblastoma (INRG very low and low risk, including stage MS)](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma-low-risk/), [Neuroblastoma (paediatric)](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma/)
- technologies: [MIBG imaging and 131I-MIBG therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/mibg-theranostics/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet/)
- key papers: [Biodistribution and Dosimetry of 18 F-Meta-Fluorobenzylguanidine: A First-in-Human PET/CT Imaging Study of Patients with Neuroendocrine Malignancies](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-pandit-taskar-j-nucl-med/)
- roadmaps: [Paediatric oncology roadmap: cooperative-group cures → engineered immunity → drugs developed for children first](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/paediatric-oncology-roadmap/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/idea-mfbg-pet-replaces-mibg.json