Different distribution of (62) Cu ATSM and (18)F-FDG in head and neck cancers.
OBJECTIVE
[⁶²Cu]-diacetyl-bis(N4-methlythiosemicarbazone) (Cu-ATSM) was used to delineate hypoxic tissue in head-and-neck cancer, and its distribution was compared with that of ¹⁸F-FDG.


METHODS
Thirty patients with head-and-neck cancer underwent Cu-ATSM and FDG PET within a 1 week interval. Accumulation of tracer for each PET image was converted to SUV. After coregisteration of PET images with individual anatomic images, multiple small ROIs were drawn on the tumor mass and applied to both PET images. SUV values were obtained for all ROIs (SUV(roi)), and the SUV(roi) regression lines between Cu-ATSM and FDG of each tumor were determined.


RESULTS
The SUV mean of Cu-ATSM was lower than that of FDG for both squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). In 27 patients with SCC, Cu-ATSM accumulated higher in the peripheral region than in the center of the tumor, and FDG showed the other tendency. Thus, the relationship of the SUV(roi) for Cu-ATSM and FDG showed a negative correlation in SCC. However, 3 adenocarcinoma cases showed similar and homogenous accumulation in the tumor mass with a positive SUV(roi) correlation for the 2 tracers. The regression slope means were -0.12 ± 0.08 for SCC (n = 27) and 0.28 ± 0.12 (n = 3) for adenocarcinoma.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with head-and-neck cancer, intratumoral distribution of Cu-ATSM and FDG showed a negative correlation in SCC and a positive correlation in adenocarcinoma. The 2 tracers represented different pathophysiological microenvironments in different tumors, suggesting that noninvasive hypoxic tissue imaging with Cu-ATSM would be beneficial in the pretreatment evaluation of head-and-neck cancer.
Biomeical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
Arpakorn
A
Kositwattanarerk
Myungmi
M
Oh
Takashi
T
Kudo
Yasushi
Y
Kiyono
Tetsuya
T
Mori
Yuichi
Y
Kimura
Rikiya
R
Maruyama
Yasuhisa
Y
Fujibayashi
Shigeharu
S
Fujieda
Hidehiko
H
Okazawa
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D056831:Coordination Complexes; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; C089548:copper (II) diacetyl-di(N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone); D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18