Published in:
01-10-2013 | Original Article
Complementary roles of tumour specific PET tracer 18F-FAMT to 18F-FDG PET/CT for the assessment of bone metastasis
Authors:
Motoho Morita, Tetsuya Higuchi, Arifudin Achmad, Azusa Tokue, Yukiko Arisaka, Yoshito Tsushima
Published in:
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
|
Issue 11/2013
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Abstract
Purpose
The usefulness of 18F-FDG PET/CT for bone metastasis evaluation has already been established. The amino acid PET tracer [18F]-3-fluoro-alpha-methyl tyrosine (18F-FAMT) has been reported to be highly specific for malignancy. We evaluated the additional value of 18F-FAMT PET/CT to complement 18F-FDG PET/CT in the evaluation of bone metastasis.
Methods
This retrospective study included 21 patients with bone metastases of various cancers who had undergone both 18F-FDG and 18F-FAMT PET/CT within 1 month of each other. 18F-FDG-avid bone lesions suspicious for malignancy were carefully selected based on the cut-off value for malignancy, and the SUVmax of the 18F-FAMT in the corresponding lesions were evaluated.
Results
A total of 72 18F-FDG-positive bone lesions suspected to be metastases in the 21 patients were used as the reference standard. 18F-FAMT uptake was found in 87.5 % of the lesions. In the lesions of lung cancer origin, the uptake of the two tracers showed a good correlation (40 lesions, r = 0.68, P < 0.01). Bone metastatic lesions of oesophageal cancer showed the highest average of 18F-FAMT uptake. Bone metastatic lesions of squamous cell carcinoma showed higher 18F-FAMT uptake than those of adenocarcinoma. No significant difference in 18F-FAMT uptake was seen between osteoblastic and osteolytic bone metastatic lesions.
Conclusion
The usefulness of 18F-FAMT PET/CT for bone metastasis detection regardless of the lesion phenotype was demonstrated. The fact that 18F-FAMT uptake was confirmed by 18F-FDG uptake suggests that 18F-FAMT PET/CT has the potential to complement 18F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of bone metastases.