HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pieterman, R. M. Articles by Groen, H. J.M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pieterman, R. M. Articles by Groen, H. J.M.

Comparison of ¹¹C-Choline and ¹⁸F-FDG PET in Primary Diagnosis and Staging of Patients with Thoracic Cancer

¹ PET Center, Groningen University Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands
² Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Groningen University Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands

PET with ¹⁸F-FDG is used for detection and staging of thoracic cancer; however, more specific PET radiopharmaceuticals would be welcome. ¹¹C-labeled choline (CHOL) is a new radiopharmaceutical potentially useful for tumor imaging, since it is incorporated into cell membranes as phosphatidylcholine. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ¹¹C-CHOL PET has advantages over ¹⁸F-FDG PET in patients with thoracic cancer. Methods: We evaluated 17 patients with thoracic cancer both with ¹¹C-CHOL PET and ¹⁸F-FDG PET. After transmission scanning, ¹¹C-CHOL was injected intravenously, and whole-body scanning was started after 5 min. Immediately thereafter, ¹⁸F-FDG was injected intravenously, followed after 90 min by interleaved attenuation-corrected whole-body scanning. Scans were performed from crown to femur. Visual and quantitative (standardized uptake value) analyses of ¹¹C-CHOL PET and ¹⁸F-FDG PET were performed and compared with results of traditional staging and follow-up. Results: The most prominent features of normal ¹¹C-CHOL distribution were high uptake in liver, renal cortex, and salivary glands. Except for some uptake in choroid plexus and pituitary gland, brain uptake was negligible. All primary thoracic tumors were detected with ¹¹C-CHOL PET and ¹⁸F-FDG PET. Both ¹¹C-CHOL PET and ¹⁸F-FDG PET correctly identified all 16 patients with lymph node involvement. However, in a lesion-to-lesion analysis, ¹¹C-CHOL PET detected only 29 of 43 metastatic lymph nodes, whereas ¹⁸F-FDG PET detected 41 of 43. ¹¹C-CHOL PET detected fewer intrapulmonary and pleural metastases than ¹⁸F-FDG PET (27/47 vs. 46/47). More brain metastases were detected with ¹¹C-CHOL PET (23/23) than with ¹⁸F-FDG PET (3/23). For primary tumors, the median (range) standard uptake values of ¹¹C-CHOL and ¹⁸F-FDG were 1.68 (0.98–3.22) and 4.22 (1.40–8.26), respectively (P = 0.001). Conclusion: ¹¹C-CHOL PET can be used to visualize thoracic cancers. Although detection of lymph node metastases with ¹¹C-CHOL PET was inferior compared with ¹⁸F-FDG PET, the detection of brain metastases was superior.

Key Words: ¹¹C-choline • ¹⁸F-FDG • PET • thoracic cancer • metastasis

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. A. M. Heesakkers, J. J. Futterer, A. M. Hovels, H. C. M. van den Bosch, T. W. J. Scheenen, Y. L. Hoogeveen, and J. O. Barentsz Prostate Cancer Evaluated with Ferumoxtran-10-enhanced T2*-weighted MR Imaging at 1.5 and 3.0 T: Early Experience. Radiology, May 1, 2006; 239(2): 481 - 487. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. K. Buck, G. Glatting, and S. N. Reske Quantification of 18F-FDG Uptake in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Feasible Prognostic Marker? J. Nucl. Med., August 1, 2004; 45(8): 1274 - 1276. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Guo, K. Higashi, H. Yokota, Y. Nagao, Y. Ueda, Y. Kodama, M. Oguchi, S. Taki, H. Tonami, and I. Yamamoto In Vitro Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Lactate and Choline Measurements, 18F-FDG Uptake, and Prognosis in Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma J. Nucl. Med., August 1, 2004; 45(8): 1334 - 1339. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. K. Gould, W. G. Kuschner, C. E. Rydzak, C. C. Maclean, A. N. Demas, H. Shigemitsu, J. K. Chan, and D. K. Owens Test Performance of Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography for Mediastinal Staging in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis Ann Intern Med, December 2, 2003; 139(11): 879 - 892. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Hara, N. Kosaka, T. Suzuki, K. Kudo, and H. Niino Uptake Rates of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose and 11C-Choline in Lung Cancer and Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Positron Emission Tomography Study Chest, September 1, 2003; 124(3): 893 - 901. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Torizuka, T. Kanno, M. Futatsubashi, H. Okada, E. Yoshikawa, F. Nakamura, M. Takekuma, M. Maeda, and Y. Ouchi Imaging of Gynecologic Tumors: Comparison of 11C-Choline PET with 18F-FDG PET J. Nucl. Med., July 1, 2003; 44(7): 1051 - 1056. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]