Accumulation of11C-methionine in the normal pituitary gland on11C-methionine PET.
Background For pituitary tumors, positron emission tomography (PET) with11C-methonine (MET) has been reported as feasible to facilitate diagnosis. MET is well-known to accumulate in the normal pituitary glands, but almost no studies have examined the degree of MET accumulation in the normal pituitary gland. Purpose To investigate accumulation of MET in normal pituitary gland on PET/CT. Material and Methods Among patients who underwent PET/CT using MET over the past 7 years, 77 patients who fulfilled our criteria for normal pituitary glands were retrospectively selected. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) for the pituitary gland was measured. Results SUVmax of MET in the pituitary gland was in the range of 0.9-6.6 (mean ± standard deviation = 2.60 ± 1.04). A negative correlation between SUVmax and patient age (y = -0.032 × + 4.29, n = 77, r = 0.55) was found by linear regression analysis. SUVmax of the pituitary gland did not differ significantly between women and men. Conclusion MET shows strong accumulation in normal pituitary gland. PET/CT would thus be feasible to differentiate between normal and abnormal pituitary glands.
1 Department of Neuroradiology, Southern Tohoku Research Institute for Neuroscience, Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan.
Noriaki
N
Tomura
2 Department of Radiology, Southern Tohoku Research Institute for Neuroscience, Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan.
Toshiyuiki
T
Saginoya
2 Department of Radiology, Southern Tohoku Research Institute for Neuroscience, Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan.
Yasuaki
Y
Mizuno
3 Department of Neurosurgery, Southern Tohoku Research Institute for Neuroscience, Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan.
Hiromi
H
Goto
D000328:Adult; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D008715:Methionine
Positron emission tomography (PET); methionine; pituitary gland