title: Positron emission tomography in patients with aggressive fibromatosis/desmoid tumours undergoing therapy with imatinib.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We used (18)F-FDG PET to evaluate the FDG uptake in patients with aggressive fibromatosis (AF, also known as desmoid tumours) undergoing therapy with imatinib (imatinib mesylate, Glivec).
  
  
  METHODS
  The pilot study included nine patients with progressive AF receiving oral treatment with imatinib at a daily dose of 800 mg. Patients were examined using PET prior to the start of therapy and during imatinib treatment. Restaging according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was performed in parallel using CT and/or MRI and served as reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical outcomes in nine evaluable patients were as follows: seven patients with stable disease, and two patients with progressive disease. A 27% decrease in the median average standardized uptake value (SUV) of the sequential PET examinations was demonstrated in all evaluable patients with three patients (33%) showing a decrease in SUV of more than 40% (48%, 52% and 54%, respectively); no patient showed a substantial increase in SUV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first series of AF patients undergoing treatment with imatinib and monitored using sequential PET imaging, that allows detection of SUV changes after imatinib induction, thus helping to decide whether treatment should be continued or not.
authors.affiliation: Sarcoma Unit, ITM - Interdisciplinary Tumor Center Mannheim, Mannheim University Medical Center, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany. mail@berndkasper.de
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss
authors.forename: Ludwig G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hohenberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001549:Benzamides; D001692:Biological Transport; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D008297:Male; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate