biostudies-literatureBehr SCUCSF Academic SenateAmerican Brain Tumor AssociationNational Institutes of Health93999https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6238742biostudies-literatureUnknown3(21)Noninvasive tools that target tumor cells could improve the management of glioma. Cancer generally has a high demand for Fe(III), an essential nutrient for a variety of biochemical processes. We tested whether 68Ga-citrate, an Fe(III) biomimetic that binds to apo-transferrin in blood, detects glioma in preclinical models and patients using hybrid PET/MRI. Mouse PET/CT studies showed that 68Ga-citrate accumulates in subcutaneous U87MG xenografts in a transferrin receptor-dependent fashion within 4 hours after injection. Seventeen patients with WHO grade III or IV glioma received 3.7-10.2 mCi 68Ga-citrate and were imaged with PET/MR 123-307 minutes after injection to establish that the radiotracer can localize to human tumors. Multiple contrast-enhancing lesions were PET avid, and tumor to aJCI insightTargeting iron metabolism in high-grade glioma with 68Ga-citrate PET/MR.PMC6238742N/AP30CA082103R01CA166766P50CA097257R01CA154561R01CA17661DG1700008T32EB001631Behr SCGao KTNelson SJWang YHMa WCha SEvans MJLi YSeo YMoroz ALee JKHsiao JCWilson DMWei JVillanueva-Meyer JEChang SMfalseTargeting iron metabolism in high-grade glioma with 68Ga-citrate PET/MR.Noninvasive tools that target tumor cells could improve the management of glioma. Cancer generally has a high demand for Fe(III), an essential nutrient for a variety of biochemical processes. We tested whether 68Ga-citrate, an Fe(III) biomimetic that binds to apo-transferrin in blood, detects glioma in preclinical models and patients using hybrid PET/MRI. Mouse PET/CT studies showed that 68Ga-citrate accumulates in subcutaneous U87MG xenografts in a transferrin receptor-dependent fashion within 4 hours after injection. Seventeen patients with WHO grade III or IV glioma received 3.7-10.2 mCi 68Ga-citrate and were imaged with PET/MR 123-307 minutes after injection to establish that the radiotracer can localize to human tumors. Multiple contrast-enhancing lesions were PET avid, and tumor to a2018-01-01T00:00:00Z2018 Nov2025-04-05T12:27:28.341Z2019-03-27T00:08:32ZS-EPMC62387423038571210.1172/jci.insight.93999