title: Measuring Bone Metabolism with Fluoride PET: Methodological Considerations.
abstract: In recent years the more widespread availability of PET systems and the development of hybrid PET/computed tomography (CT) imaging, allowing improved morphologic characterization of sites with increased tracer uptake, have improved the accuracy of diagnosis and strengthened the role of 18F-fluoride PET for quantitative assessment of bone pathology. This article reviews the role of 18F-fluoride PET in the skeleton, with a focus on (1) the underlying physiologic and pathophysiological processes of different conditions of bone metabolism and (2) methodological aspects of quantitative measurement of 18F-fluoride kinetics. Recent comparative studies have demonstrated that 18F-fluoride PET and, to an even greater extent, PET/CT are more accurate than 99mTc-bisphosphonate single-photon emission CT for the identification of malignant and benign lesions of the skeleton. Quantitative 18F-flouride PET has been shown valuable for direct non-invasive assessment of bone metabolism and monitoring response to therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivayla
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Apostolova
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: winfried.brenner@charite.de.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brenner
keywords: Bone metabolism; Fluoride PET; Nonlinear regression analysis; Patlak analysis; Quantitation; Standardized uptake value