18F-FTHA IMAGING OF THE INTESTINAL AND CENTRAL LYMPHATIC SYSTEM (FTHA)

June 8, 2026 updated by: Paco Bravo, MD, University of Pennsylvania

INVESTIGATION OF A POSITRON-EMITTING LONG-CHAIN FATTY ACID (18F-FTHA), FOR IMAGING OF THE INTESTINAL AND CENTRAL LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

The project will be performed over a period of approximately two years. In the first year the [18F]FTHA tracer will be developed, optimized, and tested on normal volunteers. During the second year, the tracer will be investigated on patients with suspected obstruction of the thoracic duct (TD).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Initially up to 10 healthy adult volunteers will be recruited for the study. All subjects will be instructed to fast overnight before the scan visit. On the study day, subjects will be fasting, and then asked to consume an Ensure drink after [18F]FTHA administration and before imaging begins. Tracer administration vial oral capsules and PET/CT imaging: All subjects will receive approximately 1.0 -1.5 mCi (approximately 37-55 MBq) of [18F]FTHA administered orally followed by dynamic imaging for up to 4 hours, with breaks between scan sessions (Figure 4) on a whole-body PET/CT system.

An additional 15 patients with clinically suspected obstruction of the TD-venous junction with symptoms that may include chronic abdominal pain, edema, protein losing enteropathy and/or ascites, will be studied using the same administration and imaging procedures.

Participants with disease may undergo a standard of care clinical surgical bypass procedure and be asked to return post-surgery for a follow up PET/CT imaging session.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
25

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Recruiting
        • University of Pennsylvania Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Paco Bravo, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Maxim Itkin, MD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion Criteria (Healthy Volunteer Cohort)

  1. Male and female participants will be ≥ 18 years of age.
  2. "Healthy Volunteer" is defined for the purposes of this study as a volunteer who is in good general health in the opinion of an investigator (some well controlled chronic medical conditions may be allowed at the discretion of an investigator if they do not believe they will interfere with the collection of imaging data, specific excluded medical conditions are listed under exclusion criteria).
  3. Informed of the investigational nature of this study and able to provide written informed consent and participate in this study in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures.

Inclusion (Patient with suspected TD-venous junction obstruction cohort)

  1. Male and female participants will be ≥ 18 years of age
  2. Informed of the investigational nature of this study and able to provide written informed consent and participate in this study in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures.
  3. Patient with chronic abdominal pain, ascites protein losing enteropathy, as well edema, with clinically suspected obstruction of the TD-venous junction and who are candidates for TD-venous junction plasty and or TD-Venous bypass

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion Criteria that apply to Healthy Volunteers only

  1. Currently taking medication for cardiac disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and/or history of cardiac surgery per medical record review and/or self-report
  2. Known history of liver or kidney disease per medical record review and/or self-report

Exclusion Criteria that applies to Healthy Volunteers and Patients:

  1. Women who are pregnant or breast feeding will not be eligible for this study; a urine pregnancy test will be performed in women of child-bearing potential on the day of each of the PET/CT scans.
  2. Subjects who report claustrophobia or Inability to tolerate imaging procedures in the opinion of an investigator or treating physician
  3. Self-reported difficulty with swallowing pills or allergy to components of Ensure Plus
  4. Patients with a history of medical illness or disorder that in the opinion of an investigator and/or study physician could compromise patient safety or interfere with the collection of imaging data, or ability to complete the study and procedures, will be excluded.

Participant may not be involved in any other research studies involving ionizing radiation conducted within 1 year of their participation of this study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Healthy Volunteer
Healthy volunteers will undergo a single injection of [18F]-FTHA (a long-chain fatty acid positron emitting radiotracer) followed by up to 4 PET/CT scans.
Diagnostic test: [18F]FTHA PET/CT scan
Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scans
Experimental: TD-Venous Obstruction patients
Patients with known or suspected obstruction of the thoracic duct (TD)-venous junction will undergo a single injection of [18F]-FTHA (a long-chain fatty acid positron emitting radiotracer) followed by up to 4 PET/CT scans. If the patient undergoes a clinical surgical procedure then they will be asked to undergo a second [18F]FTHA PET/Ct scan following the same procedure as the baseline scan.
Diagnostic test: [18F]FTHA PET/CT scan
Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scans

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
FTHA transit time
Time Frame: 4 weeks
To determine the normal [18F-]FTHA transit times through the intestinal lymphatic system, and TD among healthy human subjects imaged on a whole body PET/CT scanner.
4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dosimetry
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Calculation of radiation dosimetry from FTHA for whole body and individual organs will be completed.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 10, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 857341

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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