TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluation of Pediatric CNS Malignancies with <sup>99m</sup>Tc-Methoxyisobutylisonitrile SPECT JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 1438 LP - 1443 VL - 43 IS - 11 AU - Adam Kirton AU - Reinhard Kloiber AU - Jane Rigel AU - Johannes Wolff Y1 - 2002/11/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/43/11/1438.abstract N2 - SPECT has the potential to add valuable information to the diagnosis and management of central nervous system (CNS) malignancy. Radioactive tracers including 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI), or sestamibi, have been shown to be sensitive markers for brain tumors; however, their role in imaging children is poorly defined. Methods: We undertook a pilot study of 29 pairs of 99mTc-MIBI and MRI images from 20 children to explore the clinical usefulness of this tracer in CNS malignancy. Results: Tumor types that took up 99mTc-MIBI included brain stem glioma, fibrillary astrocytoma, other low-grade astrocytomas, and glioblastoma multiforme. Most tumors positive for 99mTc-MIBI uptake were astrocytomas, including those in the brain stem, cerebellum, and cortex. This method of nuclear imaging not only was able to identify the presence of a tumor but also could identify changes in the same tumor over time. Some correlation between histologic grade and 99mTc-MIBI uptake was observed. Several tumors, including craniopharyngioma, medulloblastoma, and optic glioma, were evident on MRI but not on 99mTc-MIBI SPECT. Conclusion: The results suggest that this modality is a potentially useful tool in the diagnosis and management of CNS malignancies, particularly higher-grade astrocytomas, in children. ER -