RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 <sup>18</sup>F-Fluoromisonidazole PET Uptake Is Correlated with Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 1060
OP 1065
DO 10.2967/jnumed.112.114355
VO 54
IS 7
A1 Sato, Jun
A1 Kitagawa, Yoshimasa
A1 Yamazaki, Yutaka
A1 Hata, Hironobu
A1 Okamoto, Shozo
A1 Shiga, Tohru
A1 Shindoh, Masanobu
A1 Kuge, Yuji
A1 Tamaki, Nagara
YR 2013
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/54/7/1060.abstract
AB Hypoxia is a common feature of cancer and a prognostic factor for many types of cancer. 18F-fluoromisonidazole (18F-FMISO) PET can detect tumor hypoxia noninvasively. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a key player in the transcriptional response to low oxygen tension in many types of cancer. Its activity is mainly dependent on the stability and modification of HIF-1α, which is a composition of HIF-1. However, it is unclear whether 18F-FMISO PET can identify HIF-1α expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The present study was performed to elucidate the correlation between 18F-FMISO PET findings and HIF-1α expression in OSCC. Methods: Twenty-three patients (age range, 42–84 y; 15 men, 8 women) with OSCC were enrolled in this study. The T-stages of cancer were T1 in 1 patient, T2 in 9, T3 in 2, and T4a in 11. The N-stages were N0 in 13 patients, N1 in 5, and N2 in 5. Each patient underwent 18F-FMISO and 18F-FDG PET before surgery, and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of both PET studies was measured. HIF-1α expression in the operation materials was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. The SUVmax of both PET studies and HIF-1α findings were compared statistically. Results: 18F-FMISO PET detected uptake in the primary site in 14 of the 23 patients (61%). The median SUVmax of 18F-FMISO and 18F-FDG PET in the primary site was 1.83 (range, 0.8–2.7) and 16.5 (range, 1.0–32.3), respectively. There was a weak significant correlation between 18F-FMISO and 18F-FDG PET SUVmax (P = 0.02, r = 0.48). HIF-1α expression was clearly detected in 11 of the 23 patients (48%). The 18F-FMISO PET SUVmax was significantly higher in the HIF-1α–positive cases than in the HIF-1α–negative cases (median, 2.1; range, 1.5–2.4, vs. median, 1.6; range, 0.8–2.0, respectively) (P = 0.002). However, there were no significant correlations between 18F-FDG PET SUVmax and HIF-1α expression (median, 21.8; range, 7.7–29.1 vs. 1.0–32.2) (P = 0.06). Conclusion: 18F-FMISO uptake in the primary site of OSCC indicates a hypoxic environment with HIF-1α expression.