Drug-Radiopharmaceutical Interactions and Other Possible Modifications in Radiopharmaceutical Biodistribution

Abstract

Alterations in the biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine can have various causes. In the first place, the modified distribution may be the result of an intended pharmacological or physiological intervention. Such studies are an extension of nuclear medicine procedures for obtaining the desired diagnostic data and narrowing the differential diagnosis. On the other hand, as a result of patient medication, there is an increasing awareness of unexpected alterations in radiopharmaceutical biodistribution (1). These unexpected changes in the biodistribution of the tracer may reduce the diagnostic value of nuclear medicine imaging or, worse, give rise to misleading results or to the necessity of revising dosimetric calculations.