Iagaru A., Mittra E., Mosci C., Dick D.W., Sathekge M., Prakash V., Iyer V., Lapa P., Isidoro J., De Lima J.M., Gambhir S.S.
Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States; Pretoria University Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa; Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Serviço de Medicina Nuclear, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Departments of Radiology, Bioengineering, Materials Science, and Engineering, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States; Division of Nuclear Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Dr., Room H-0101, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
Iagaru, A., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Dr., Room H-0101, Stanford, CA 94305, United States; Mittra, E., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States; Mosci, C., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States; Dick, D.W., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States; Sathekge, M., Pretoria University Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa; Prakash, V., Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Iyer, V., Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Lapa, P., Serviço de Medicina Nuclear, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Isidoro, J., Serviço de Medicina Nuclear, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; De Lima, J.M., Serviço de Medicina Nuclear, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Gambhir, S.S., Departments of Radiology, Bioengineering, Materials Science, and Engineering, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
18F-FDG PET/CT is used in a variety of cancers, but because of variable rates of glucose metabolism, not all cancers are reliably identified. 18F- PET/CT allows for the acquisition of highly sensitive and specific images of the skeleton. We prospectively evaluated combined 18F-/18F-FDG as a single PET/CT examination for evaluation of cancer patients and compared it with separate 18F - PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Methods: One hundred fifteen participants with cancer were prospectively enrolled in an international multicenter trial evaluating 18F- PET/CT, 18F-FDG PET/CT, and combined 18F-/ 18F-FDG PET/CT. The 3 PET/CT scans were performed sequentially within 4 wk of one another for each patient. Results: 18F-/ 18FFDG PET/CT allowed for accurate interpretation of radiotracer uptake outside the skeleton, with findings similar to those of 18F-FDG PET/CT. In 19 participants, skeletal disease was more extensive on 18F- PET/CT and 18F -/18F-FDG PET/CT than on 18F-FDG PET/CT. In another 29 participants, 18F- PET/CT and 18F-/18F-FDG PET/CT showed osseous metastases where 18FFDG PET/CT was negative. The extent of skeletal lesions was similar in 18 participants on all 3 scans. Conclusion: This trial demonstrated that combined 18F-/18F-FDG PET/CT shows promising results when compared with separate 18F- PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT for evaluation of cancer patients. This result opens the possibility for improved patient care and reduction in health-care costs, as will be further evaluated in future trials. Copyright © 2013 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.