# 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT Enables Noninvasive Assessment of Indeterminate Renal Masses and Metastatic Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

**Authors:** Yihan Cao, Jonathan Kim, Justin Talluto, Taylor McVeigh, Michael L. Blute, Douglas M. Dahl, Keyan Salari, Pedram Heidari, Shadi A. Esfahani

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics18020258 · 2026-02-19

## TL;DR

89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT helps doctors diagnose kidney tumors without surgery and improves patient care.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the clinical utility of 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT in characterizing indeterminate renal masses and metastatic ccRCC.

## Key findings

- 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT accurately identified ccRCC and oncocytoma in patients with indeterminate renal masses.
- PET/CT detected metastases and tumor thrombi with high SUVmax values, aiding in clinical decision-making.
- Referring physicians reported improved patient care and changes in clinical management based on PET/CT results.

## Abstract

Background: Indeterminate renal masses (IRMs) frequently require biopsy for characterization and often lead to unnecessary surgical interventions. 89Zr-girentuximab is a positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical targeting carbonic anhydrase IX, a biomarker overexpressed in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). This real-world experience demonstrates the impact of 89Zr-girentuximab PET on the clinical management of patients with IRM and its role in differentiating primary and metastatic ccRCC from other etiologies. Methods: This prospective single-center study, part of an expanded access program (NCT06090331), investigated patients with IRM on conventional imaging who underwent 89Zr-girentuximab PET/computed tomography (PET/CT). Qualitative and quantitative PET/CT features of each lesion were assessed. Pathologic or clinical diagnosis was determined for all lesions. Referring physicians were surveyed to evaluate the impact of PET on patient management. Results: Seven male patients (age range, 57–78 years) were included; four had ccRCC (including two with metastatic disease) and three had oncocytoma (including one with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome). Across all 32 lesions identified, 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT accurately characterized each lesion based on pathologic or clinical diagnosis. 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT identified ccRCC tumor thrombi in the inferior vena cava and renal vein branches (SUVmax 12.0–13.0), a perinephric deposit (SUVmax 36.4), and intramuscular (SUVmax 103.0), pulmonary (SUVmax 4.0–10.5), and osseous (SUVmax 10.2) metastases. 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT enabled the diagnosis of oncocytomatosis in one patient and detected a renal lesion with positive uptake that was occult on MRI. According to referring physicians, 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT changed clinical management in six of seven patients and improved patient care in all cases. Conclusions: 89Zr-girentuximab PET/CT provides a noninvasive tool for characterizing indeterminate renal masses and metastatic ccRCC and may improve clinical problem-solving in complex scenarios.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (MONDO:0005005), oncocytoma (MONDO:0010795), Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (MONDO:0007607)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** CA9 (carbonic anhydrase 9) [NCBI Gene 768] {aka CAIX, MN}
- **Diseases:** Primary Tumors (MESH:D001932), renal cysts (MESH:D003560), solid (MESH:D018250), Clear-cell RCC (MESH:D002292), benign renal lesions (MESH:D007674), bone lesion (MESH:D001847), oncocytoma (MESH:D018249), myocardial infarction (MESH:D009203), metastases (MESH:D009362), thrombus (MESH:D013927), Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome (MESH:D058249), Bosniak IIF (MESH:C567040), IRMs (MESH:C536030), renal oncocytomatosis (MESH:D006030), renal function loss (MESH:D058186), extrarenal lesions (MESH:D009059), benign (MESH:D009369), psychiatric, infectious, autoimmune, or metabolic disorders (MESH:D001523), left renal and psoas masses (MESH:D016659), nodules (MESH:D016606), hematuria (MESH:D006417), injury to (MESH:D014947)
- **Chemicals:** girentuximab (MESH:C106533), 18F-FDG (MESH:D019788), 89Zr-girentuximab (MESH:C000631246), N-Suc-DFO-TFP (-), 89Zr (MESH:C000615502)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Figures

3 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12944229/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12944229