Detection of gastric cancer using 18F-FLT PET: comparison with 18F-FDG PET.
OBJECTIVE
We prospectively investigated the feasibility of 3'-deoxy-3'-(18)F-fluorothymidine (FLT) positron emission tomography (PET) for the detection of gastric cancer, in comparison with 2-deoxy-2-(18)F-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) PET, and determined the degree of correlation between the two radiotracers and proliferative activity as indicated by Ki-67 index.


METHODS
A total of 21 patients with newly diagnosed advanced gastric cancer were examined with FLT PET and FDG PET. Tumour lesions were identified as areas of focally increased uptake, exceeding that of surrounding normal tissue. For semiquantitative analysis, the maximal standardized uptake value (SUV) was calculated.


RESULTS
For detection of advanced gastric cancer, the sensitivities of FLT PET and FDG PET were 95.2% and 95.0%, respectively. The mean (+/-SD) SUV for FLT (7.0 +/- 3.3) was significantly lower than that for FDG (9.4 +/- 6.3 p < 0.05). The mean FLT SUV and FDG SUV in nonintestinal tumours were higher than in intestinal tumours, although the difference was not statistically significant. The mean (+/-SD) FLT SUV in poorly differentiated tumours (8.5 +/- 3.5) was significantly higher than that in well and moderately differentiated tumours (5.3 +/- 2.1; p < 0.04). The mean FDG SUV in poorly differentiated tumours was higher than in well and moderately differentiated tumours, although the difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant correlation between Ki-67 index and either FLT SUV or FDG SUV.


CONCLUSIONS
FLT PET showed as high a sensitivity as FDG PET for the detection of gastric cancer, although uptake of FLT in gastric cancer was significantly lower than that of FDG.
Kameyama
Reiko
R
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan. reikok@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp.
Yamamoto
Yuka
Y
Izuishi
Kunihiko
K
Takebayashi
Ryusuke
R
Hagiike
Masanobu
M
Murota
Makiko
M
Kaji
Masato
M
Haba
Reiji
R
Nishiyama
Yoshihiro
Y
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015224:Dideoxynucleosides; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
D015224:Dideoxynucleosides; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; C002854:alovudine