PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Le Roux, Pierre-Yves AU - Siva, Shankar AU - Steinfort, Daniel P. AU - Callahan, Jason AU - Eu, Peter AU - Irving, Lou B. AU - Hicks, Rodney J. AU - Hofman, Michael S. TI - Correlation of <sup>68</sup>Ga Ventilation–Perfusion PET/CT with Pulmonary Function Test Indices for Assessing Lung Function AID - 10.2967/jnumed.115.162586 DP - 2015 Nov 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 1718--1723 VI - 56 IP - 11 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/11/1718.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/11/1718.full SO - J Nucl Med2015 Nov 01; 56 AB - Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are routinely used to assess lung function, but they do not provide information about regional pulmonary dysfunction. We aimed to assess correlation of quantitative ventilation–perfusion (V/Q) PET/CT with PFT indices. Methods: Thirty patients underwent V/Q PET/CT and PFT. Respiration-gated images were acquired after inhalation of 68Ga-carbon nanoparticles and administration of 68Ga-macroaggregated albumin. Functional volumes were calculated by dividing the volume of normal ventilated and perfused (%NVQ), unmatched and matched defects by the total lung volume. These functional volumes were correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). Results: All functional volumes were significantly different in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P &lt; 0.05). FEV1/FVC and %NVQ had the highest correlation (r = 0.82). FEV1 was also best correlated with %NVQ (r = 0.64). DLCO was best correlated with the volume of unmatched defects (r = −0.55). Considering %NVQ only, a cutoff value of 90% correctly categorized 28 of 30 patients with or without significant pulmonary function impairment. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates strong correlations between V/Q PET/CT functional volumes and PFT parameters. Because V/Q PET/CT is able to assess regional lung function, these data support the feasibility of its use in radiation therapy and preoperative planning and assessing pulmonary dysfunction in a variety of respiratory diseases.