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First published online June 12, 2009, 10.2967/jnumed.108.061085
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Journal of Nuclear Medicine Vol. 50 No. 7 1072-1075
© 2009 by Society of Nuclear Medicine
doi: 10.2967/jnumed.108.061085

Clinical Investigation

Brain Mapping of Patients with Lung Cancer and Controls: Inquiry into Tumor-to-Brain Communication

Haim Golan1, John A. Kennedy2, Alex Frenkel2, Ysrael Parmet3, Akiva Feintuch3, Ofer Levi3 and Yori Gidron4

1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel; 2 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; 3 Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel; and 4 School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University, West London, United Kingdom

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: Haim Golan, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin 70300, Israel. E-mail: golanh{at}asaf.health.gov.il

Recent converging evidence suggests that the brain may receive stimuli and possibly modulate tumor progression via the vagus nerve. The present study aimed to compare brain metabolism in patients with and without lung cancer and to assess if significant differences exist in regions associated with the vagus nerve. Methods: Eighteen patients with lung malignancy and 19 controls underwent 18F-FDG PET of the brain. Brain metabolism was compared using statistical parametric mapping. Results: Patients with lung malignancy showed a statistically significantly higher right cerebellar metabolism. Conclusion: This finding may be related to the role of the cerebellum in immune regulation, because of its proximity to the nucleus tractus solitarius innervated by the vagus and its connections with the hypothalamus. This higher metabolism in the right cerebellum may reflect an attempt to reinstate homeostasis in functions such as respiration and immunity pertinent to lung malignancy.

Key Words: lung cancer • vagus nerve • FDG brain PET • tumor-to-brain communication

COPYRIGHT © 2009 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.


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Copyright © 2009 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine.