title: (11)C-methionine uptake correlates with tumor cell density rather than with microvessel density in glioma: A stereotactic image-histology comparison.
abstract: (11)C-methionine positron emission tomography ((11)C-methionine PET) provides accurate detection of brain tumors. Several reports have analyzed the correlation between uptake of (11)C-methionine and Ki-67 index or microvessel density non-stereotactically and suggested that (11)C-methionine uptake reflects both proliferation potential and angiogenic capability in gliomas. As gliomas possess heterogeneous histological architecture, non-stereotactic comparison of the histology and (11)C-methionine PET image may not be accurate. In the present study, the correlation between (11)C-methionine uptake and cell or microvessel density was analyzed using histological specimens obtained by stereotactic biopsy, and an exact local comparison of (11)C-methionine PET image and histological specimens was conducted. The tumor/normal tissue (T/N) ratio of (11)C-methionine positron emission tomography was found to correlate better with cell density (R=0.747, p=0.000042) and Ki-67 index (R=0.675, p=0.00041) than with microvessel density (R=0.467, p=0.025) in a histological comparison using a stereotactic image. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that cell density was the key determinant for predicting (11)C-methionine level while microvessel density was not. These results suggest that cell density contributes more to (11)C-methionine uptake than microvessel density in glioma tissues and that the previously reported correlation of (11)C-methionine uptake and microvessel density in glioma patients requires reevaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Gradate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okita
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kishima
authors.forename: Eku
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimosegawa
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hatazawa
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002452:Cell Count; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008715:Methionine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D008715:Methionine