Prospective F-18 FDOPA PET Imaging Study in Human PD

Purpose We present the findings of our final prospective study submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for New Drug Application (NDA) approval for the use of 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]fluoro-l-phenylalanine (F-18 FDOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for Parkinson's disease (PD). The primary aim was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of F-18 FDOPA PET in parkinsonian patients with respect to clinical standard-of-truth (SOT). Secondary outcomes included the inter-rater reliability, and correlation of quantitative measures for PET with dopaminergic status. Methods In 68 parkinsonian subjects, F-18 FDOPA PET scan from 80 to 100 min was acquired following a CT scan. Scan images were presented to one expert in F-18 FDOPA image interpretation and two physicians with prior experience in I-123 FPCIT single-photon emission computed tomography image interpretation. Fifty-six subjects completed the study with a follow-up for SOT determination. Image readers were blind to the clinical/quantitative data; SOT clinician was blind to the image data. Results For 47 of the 56 patients, SOT was in agreement with the PET scan results. For nine patients, SOT suggested dopaminergic deficit, whereas the imaging showed normal uptake. The specificity and positive predictive values are 91% and 92%, respectively, suggesting high probability that those who test positive by the PET scan truly have dopaminergic degeneration. The sensitivity was 73%. Inter-rater agreement was 0.6-0.8 between the different readers. Conclusion Our prospective study demonstrates high specificity and moderate sensitivity of F-18 FDOPA PET for PD. We received NDA approval in October 2019.

Automated summary

This study presents the findings of a prospective study on the use of F-18 FDOPA PET imaging for Parkinson's disease (PD). The results demonstrate high specificity and moderate sensitivity of this imaging technique, which has been approved by the FDA.