Iodine-123-alpha-methyl tyrosine in gliomas: correlation with cellular density and proliferative activity.
Amino acid transport rate in gliomas can be assessed using SPECT and the amino acid L-123I-alpha-methyl tyrosine (IMT). This study attempted to correlate the uptake of IMT by gliomas with the proliferative activity and cellular density of these neoplasms.


METHODS
The study used 27 patients with gliomas, including 18 patients with high-grade tumors and nine patients with low-grade neoplasms. Amino acid transport rate was determined using IMT and the triple-headed SPECT camera. Proliferative activity was immunohistochemically assessed as the relative number of cells expressing the Ki-67 nuclear antigen; cellular density was evaluated using light microscopy.


RESULTS
Relative IMT uptake correlated significantly with the proliferative fraction of tumor cells (r = 0.6, p < 0.001). There was no significant correlation between IMT uptake and cellular density (r = 0.25, p > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The uptake of the SPECT radiopharmaceutical IMT is related to proliferative activity rather than to the cellular density of gliomas.
Kuwert
T
T
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany.
Probst-Cousin
S
S
Woesler
B
B
Morgenroth
C
C
Lerch
H
H
Matheja
P
P
Palkovic
S
S
Schäfers
M
M
Wassmann
H
H
Gullotta
F
F
Schober
O
O
D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division; D005260:Female; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008297:Male; D008781:Methyltyrosines; D008875:Middle Aged; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008781:Methyltyrosines; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C030855:3-iodo-alpha-methyltyrosine