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Value of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine PET for the diagnosis of recurrent glioma

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Abstract

Purpose

The prognosis of patients with recurrent gliomas depends on reliable and early diagnosis of tumour recurrence after initial therapy. In this context, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) often fail to differentiate between radiation- and tumour-induced contrast enhancement. Furthermore, absence of contrast enhancement, or even of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in PET, does not exclude recurrence. The aim of this study was to establish the diagnostic value of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine (FET) PET in recurrent gliomas.

Methods

Fifty-three patients with glioma (primary grading: 27=WHO grade IV, 16=grade III, 9=grade II, 1=grade I) and clinically suspected recurrence underwent FET PET scans 4–180 months after different treatment modalities. For semiquantitative evaluation, maximal SUV (SUVmax) and mean SUV within 80% and 70% isocontour thresholds (SUV80/SUV70) were evaluated and the respective ratios to the background (BG) were calculated. PET results were correlated with MRI/CT, clinical follow-up or biopsy findings.

Results

All patients presented with FET uptake, of varying intensity, in the area of the primary tumour after initial therapy. In the 42 patients with confirmed recurrence, there was additional distinct focal FET uptake with significantly higher values compared with those in the 11 patients without clinical signs of recurrence and showing only low and homogeneous FET uptake at the margins of the resection cavity. With respect to tumour grading, there was a slight but non-significant increase from WHO II (SUVmax/BG: 2.53±0.28) to WHO III (SUVmax/BG: 2.84±0.49) and WHO IV (SUVmax/BG: 3.55±1.07) recurrence.

Conclusion

FET PET reliably distinguishes between post-therapeutic benign lesions and tumour recurrence after initial treatment of low- and high-grade gliomas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum Grosshadern, University of Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany

    Gabriele Pöpperl, Franz-Josef Gildehaus & Klaus Tatsch

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum Grosshadern, University of Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany

    Claudia Götz, Walter Rachinger & Jörg-Christian Tonn

Authors
  1. Gabriele Pöpperl
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  2. Claudia Götz
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  3. Walter Rachinger
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  4. Franz-Josef Gildehaus
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  6. Klaus Tatsch
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Correspondence to Gabriele Pöpperl.

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Pöpperl, G., Götz, C., Rachinger, W. et al. Value of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine PET for the diagnosis of recurrent glioma. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 31, 1464–1470 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-004-1590-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-004-1590-1

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