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Cancer Imaging

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Open Access 01-12-2024 | Computed Tomography | Research article

Head-to-head comparison of [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of tonsil cancer and lymph node metastases: a single-centre retrospective study

Authors: Mengjing Ji, Guang Ma, Cheng Liu, Bingxin Gu, Xinyue Du, Xiaomin Ou, Xiaoping Xu, Shaoli Song, Zhongyi Yang

Published in: Cancer Imaging | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to compare the diagnostic value of [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT imaging for primary lesions and metastatic lymph nodes in patients with tonsil cancer.

Method

Twenty-one tonsil cancer patients who underwent [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT scans within two weeks in our centre were retrospectively enrolled. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) of the two tracers were compared by using the Mann‒Whitney U test. In addition, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two methods for diagnosing metastatic lymph nodes were analysed.

Results

In detecting primary lesions, the efficiency was higher for [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT (20/22) than for [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT (9/22). Although [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 uptake (SUVmax, 5.03 ± 4.06) was lower than [¹⁸F]FDG uptake (SUVmax, 7.90 ± 4.84, P = 0.006), [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 improved the distinction between the primary tumor and contralateral normal tonsillar tissue. The TBR was significantly higher for [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT (3.19 ± 2.06) than for [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT (1.89 ± 1.80) (p < 0.001). In lymph node analysis, SUVmax and TBR were not significantly different between [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT (7.67 ± 5.88 vs. 8.36 ± 6.15, P = 0.498 and 5.56 ± 4.02 vs. 4.26 ± 3.16, P = 0.123, respectively). The specificity and accuracy of [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT were higher than those of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in diagnosing metastatic cervical lymph nodes (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The availability of [⁶⁸ Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 complements the diagnostic results of [¹⁸F]FDG by improving the detection rate of primary lesions and the diagnostic accuracy of cervical metastatic lymph nodes in tonsil cancer compared to [¹⁸F]FDG.

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Title: Head-to-head comparison of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [18F]FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of tonsil cancer and lymph node metastases: a single-centre retrospective study
Authors: Mengjing Ji
Guang Ma
Cheng Liu
Bingxin Gu
Xinyue Du
Xiaomin Ou
Xiaoping Xu
Shaoli Song
Zhongyi Yang
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Computed Tomography
Computed Tomography
Metastasis
Published in: Cancer Imaging / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1470-7330
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40644-024-00699-3

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