In oncology, the feasibility of Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) has been assessed by imaging superficial lymph nodes in a few patients undergoing diagnostic ¹⁸F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). However, the weak luminescence signal requires the removal of ambient light. Here we report the development of a clinical CLI fiberscope with a lightproof enclosure, and the clinical testing of the setup using five different radiotracers. In an observational prospective trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03484884) involving 96 patients with existing or suspected tumours, scheduled for routine clinical FDG PET or ¹³¹I therapy, the level of agreement of CLI with standard-of-care imaging (PET or planar single-photon emission CT) for tumour location was ‘acceptable’ or higher (≥3 in the 1–5 Likert scale) for 90% of the patients. CLI correlated with the concentration of radioactive activity, and captured therapeutically relevant information from patients undergoing targeted radiotherapy or receiving the alpha emitter ²²³Ra, which cannot be feasibly imaged clinically. CLI could supplement radiological scans, especially when scanner capacity is limited.

在肿瘤学中，Cerenkov 发光成像 (CLI) 的可行性已通过对接受诊断性¹⁸ F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ( ¹⁸ F-FDG) 正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描 (PET/CT) 的少数患者的浅表淋巴结成像进行了评估). 然而，微弱的发光信号需要去除环境光。在这里，我们报告了带有不透光外壳的临床 CLI 纤维内窥镜的开发，以及使用五种不同的放射性示踪剂对该装置进行的临床测试。在一项观察性前瞻性试验（ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符 NCT03484884）中，涉及 96 名患有现有或疑似肿瘤的患者，计划进行常规临床 FDG PET 或¹³¹I 治疗，对于 90% 的患者，CLI 与肿瘤定位的标准护理成像（PET 或平面单光子发射 CT）的一致性水平是“可接受的”或更高（在 1-5 Likert 量表中≥3）病人。CLI 与放射性活动的浓度相关，并从接受靶向放射治疗或接受 α 发射体²²³ Ra 的患者那里捕获治疗相关信息，这些信息无法在临床上成像。CLI 可以补充放射扫描，尤其是在扫描仪容量有限的情况下。