EANM dosimetry committee series on standard operational procedures: a unified methodology for 99mTc-MAA pre- and 90Y peri-therapy dosimetry in liver radioembolization with 90Y microspheres

The aim of this standard operational procedure is to standardize the methodology employed for the evaluation of pre- and post-treatment absorbed dose calculations in Y-90 microsphere liver radioembolization. Basic assumptions include the permanent trapping of microspheres, the local energy deposition method for voxel dosimetry, and the patient-relative calibration method for activity quantification.The identity of Tc-99m albumin macro-aggregates (MAA) and Y-90 microsphere biodistribution is also assumed. The large observed discrepancies in some patients between Tc-99m-MAA predictions and actual Y-90 microsphere distributions for lesions is discussed. Absorbed dose predictions to whole non-tumoural liver are considered more reliable and the basic predictors of toxicity. Treatment planning based on mean absorbed dose delivered to the whole non-tumoural liver is advised, except in super-selective treatments. Given the potential mismatch between MAA simulation and actual therapy, absorbed doses should be calculated both pre- and post-therapy. Distinct evaluation between target tumours and non-tumoural tissue, including lungs in cases of lung shunt, are vital for proper optimization of therapy. Dosimetry should be performed first according to a mean absorbed dose approach, with an optional, but important, voxel level evaluation. Fully corrected Tc-99m-MAA Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) and Y-90 TOF PET/CT are regarded as optimal acquisition methodologies, but, for institutes where SPECT/CT is not available, non-attenuation corrected Tc-99m-MAA SPECT may be used. This offers better planning quality than non dosimetric methods such as Body Surface Area (BSA) or mono-compartmental dosimetry. Quantitative Y-90 bremsstrahlung SPECT can be used if dedicated correction methods are available. The proposed methodology is feasible with standard camera software and a spreadsheet. Available commercial or free software can help facilitate the process and improve calculation time.