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

Source: https://nuclide.cc/ideas/idea-mfbg-pet-replaces-mibg/  
Nuclide record `idea-mfbg-pet-replaces-mibg` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.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

- isotopes: [Fluorine-18](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/f-18/), [Iodine-123](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/i-123/)
- indications: [High-risk neuroblastoma](https://nuclide.cc/indications/neuroblastoma-high-risk/), [Neuroblastoma (paediatric)](https://nuclide.cc/indications/neuroblastoma/)
- technologies: [MIBG imaging and 131I-MIBG therapy](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/mibg-theranostics/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/pet/)
- targets: [Norepinephrine transporter (NET)](https://nuclide.cc/targets/norepinephrine-transporter/)

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