title: Assessment of grading in newly-diagnosed glioma using 18F-fluorothymidine PET/CT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the proliferation activity in gliomas using 18F-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of 26 tumors were analyzed (mean age=51.6; range=26-72 years; 16 males, 10 females). All examinations were performed using a PET/CT scanner equipped with lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) detectors. All data were acquired with a delay of 15 min, following intravenous application of 18F-FLT (dosed 2 MBq/kg of body weight). The PET/CT contained CT after intravenous application of iodinated contrast agent and high-resolution brain PET acquired during 15 min in one position. PET/CT was performed before confirmation of the histological diagnosis and the level of 18F-FLT accumulation was compared to the grading of the tumor evaluated using immunohistochemistry staining of Ki-67. Samples were obtained by stereotactic biopsy (5×) or surgical resection (21×).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five tumors of grade IV, 7 tumors of grade III and 14 tumors of grade II were found. Pre-bioptical discrimination between high-grade and low-grade tumors reached accuracy 92.3% (24/26), sensitivity 92.3% (12/13) and specificity 92.9 (13/14). The mean maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in high-grade tumors was 2.23, significantly different from low-grade tumors (mean SUVmax 0.61, T=7.803, p<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  18F-FLT-PET/CT enables to estimate the proliferation activity of glioma before biopsy.
authors: Clinic of Imaging Methods, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Ferdová
authors: Clinic of Imaging Methods, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic ferda@fnplzen.cz.
authors: Jiří
authors: J
authors: Ferda
authors: Clinic of Imaging Methods, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Baxa
authors: Clinic of Imaging Methods, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Radek
authors: R
authors: Tupý
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Mraček
authors: Immunoanalytic Laboratory, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Ondřej
authors: O
authors: Topolčan
authors: Sikl's Institute of Pathological Anatomy, University Hospital Plzen, Plzeň, Czech Republic.
authors: Ondrej
authors: O
authors: Hes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: Brain tumors; PET/CT; fluorothymidine; proliferation activity; tumor grading