99mTc-sestamibi brain SPECT after chemoradiotherapy is prognostic of survival in patients with high-grade glioma.
This prospective clinical study used (99m)Tc-sestamibi (MIBI) brain SPECT to assess residual tumor volume and determine whether it would be prognostic of survival at the end of cranial irradiation in patients with malignant glioma.


METHODS
Fifty-seven patients with supratentorial malignant glioma were included in this clinical trial. Tomoscintigraphy was performed 4 h after an intravenous injection of MIBI (1,110 MBq). The images were obtained from a dual-head gamma-camera using fanbeam collimators. Transverse, coronal, and sagittal views were reconstructed. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV), using an ellipsoid model, was calculated from the 3 slices. The first posttherapeutic neuroradiologic evaluation was performed at the end of each patient's radiation therapy.


RESULTS
(99m)Tc-MIBI brain SPECT performed at the end of cranial irradiation provided data that allowed the identification of residual tumor and could be used to accurately predict survival of malignant glioma patients, taking into account the established prognostic factors. Patients with an MTV < 32 cm(3) had a median survival of 358 d, as opposed to 238 d in patients with an MTV >or= 32 cm(3) (P = 0.05). Moreover, half of CT scans performed at the same time were considered to show doubtful or only suggestive findings. No diagnosis of tumor progression or inflammatory changes was possible.


CONCLUSIONS
(99m)Tc-MIBI brain SPECT may help in establishing the prognosis of glioma patients at the end of radiation therapy. Consequently, the management of patients can be adapted. These new data should be considered in the design of future clinical studies of malignant glioma patients as a way to quickly assess the efficiency of therapies.
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 453, Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France. beauchesneP@wanadoo.fr
Patrick
P
Beauchesne
Remy
R
Pedeux
Mathieu
M
Boniol
Claude
C
Soler
D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi