Myocardial Glucose Metabolism Is Increased in Newly Diagnosed Lung Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: Cardiac metabolism alterations may be involved in abnormalities of cancer patients’ cardiovascular system. This study aimed to explore whether left ventricular myocardial glucose metabolism is altered and its related factors in newly diagnosed patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) who underwent fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Methods: From our ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging database, 171 patients with newly diagnosed LAD and 43 nononcologic subjects with matched age and sex were retrospectively analyzed. The included patients underwent conventional ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging with a >12-h fasting before ¹⁸F-FDG administration. The standardized uptake values (SUVs) of the left ventricular (LV) myocardium, arterial wall, epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), spleen, and bone marrow were separately measured. Laboratory parameters and echocardiographic results were collected as well. LAD patients were divided into 2 groups based on the 95th percentile of LV maximal SUV (SUV_max) obtained from the 43 nononcologic subjects. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to identify significant factors. Results: Higher LV SUV_max was found (3.8 [2.4, 7.7] vs. 3.0 [2.0, 5.4], p = 0.052) in LAD than that in nononcologic patients, whereas no significant differences of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake were found in the arterial wall, EAT, spleen, or bone marrow between LAD patients and controls. The maximum diameter (D_max) of the LAD lesion, SUV_max of spleen, and SUV_max of EAT were related to LV SUV_max in LAD. Conclusions: Myocardial glucose metabolism is increased in patients with newly diagnosed LAD. D_max of LAD lesion, spleen activity, and EAT activity contribute to the increased LV activity in LAD.