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Abdominal Radiology
Published in: Abdominal Radiology 3/2017

01-03-2017 | Pictorial Essay

Current clinical status of 18F-FLT PET or PET/CT in digestive and abdominal organ oncology

Authors: Masatoyo Nakajo, Yoriko Kajiya, Megumi Jinguji, Yoshiaki Nakabeppu, Masayuki Nakajo, Tohru Nihara, Takashi Yoshiura

Published in: Abdominal Radiology | Issue 3/2017

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Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) or PET/computed tomography (CT) using 18F-3′-fluoro-3′-deoxythymidine (18F-FLT) offers noninvasive assessment of cell proliferation in human cancers in vivo. The present review discusses the current status on clinical applications of 18F-FLT-PET (or PET/CT) in digestive and abdominal oncology by comparing with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-PET (or PET/CT). The results of this review show that although 18F-FLT uptake is lower in most cases of digestive and abdominal malignancies compared with 18F-FDG uptake, 18F-FLT-PET can be used to detect primary tumors. 18F-FLT-PET has shown greater specificity for N staging than 18F-FDG-PET which can show false-positive uptake in areas of inflammation. However, because of the high background uptake in the liver and bone marrow, it has a limited role of assessing liver and bone metastases. Instead, 18F-FLT-PET will be a powerful tool for monitoring response to treatment and provide prognostic information in digestive and abdominal oncology.
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Metadata
Title
Current clinical status of 18F-FLT PET or PET/CT in digestive and abdominal organ oncology
Authors
Masatoyo Nakajo
Yoriko Kajiya
Megumi Jinguji
Yoshiaki Nakabeppu
Masayuki Nakajo
Tohru Nihara
Takashi Yoshiura
Publication date
01-03-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Abdominal Radiology / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 2366-004X
Electronic ISSN: 2366-0058
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-016-0947-9

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