Role of positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose in evaluating the effects of arterial infusion chemotherapy and radiotherapy on pancreatic cancer.
BACKGROUND
This study evaluated the usefulness of positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG-PET) in monitoring the response to continuous arterial infusion chemotherapy (CAI) combined with external radiation therapy (ERT) for unresectable pancreatic carcinomas.


METHODS
Ten patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer were enrolled in this study. Computed tomography (CT) and FDG-PET were done before and after CAI (5-fluorouracil [FU], 500 mg/body per day) combined with ERT (50.4 Gy total dose). Tumor regression was evaluated by standardized uptake value (SUV) with FDG-PET, tumor size on CT, and changes in blood levels of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9. The three methods of evaluation were compared.


RESULTS
The ten patients were classified in three categories. In category I, tumor changes evident on CT and FDG-PET were consistent. In category II, CT could not accurately detect the area of the tumor. However, tumor uptake on FDG-PET decreased markedly after the treatment in category II patients. In category III, both CT and FDG-PET detected the tumor, as in category I. Although there was no definite change in tumor size on CT, FDG-PET uptake was markedly reduced immediately after the treatment. Reduction in tumor size did not appear on CT until 2 months later.


CONCLUSIONS
FDG-PET aids in analysis of the effectiveness of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
Yoshioka
Masato
M
Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita 010-8543, Japan.
Sato
Tsutomu
T
Furuya
Tomoki
T
Shibata
Satoshi
S
Andoh
Hideaki
H
Asanuma
Yoshihiro
Y
Hatazawa
Jun
J
Shimosegawa
Eku
E
Koyama
Kenji
K
Yamamoto
Yuzo
Y
D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005472:Fluorouracil