Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND High grade glioma has poor survival rate and tumour recurrence occurs despite current treatments. Positron emission tomography (PET) with [11C](R)PK11195 can evaluate translocator protein (TSPO) and [11C]methionine can assess amino acid transport. PET imaging might have the potential to detect tumour regions at baseline that will later develop as the site of recurrence. We compare TSPO measured using [11C](R)PK11195 and amino acid transport using [11C]methionine at baseline and investigate to what extend the two tracers can predict the site of tumour recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twelve patients with newly diagnosed high grade glioma underwent multimodal imaging studies. Preoperative MRI, [11C](R)PK11195 PET, [11C]methionine PET and postoperative (follow-up) MRI were co-registered. [11C](R)PK11195 binding potential (BPND) maps were generated using the simplified reference tissue model with grey matter cerebellar time-activity curve as tissue input function. [11C]methionine uptake was calculated as tumour to background ratio (TBR). Contrast enhancing volumes of interest (VOI) were defined on T1W post contrast. The VOI of [11C]methionine high uptake was standardized as TBR>1.7. For [11C](R)PK11195 VOI, the mean BPND + SD of grey matter voxels was calculated from individual maps of healthy control (HC; n = 50). Afterward, 95% confidence interval threshold (HC mean + 1.96 × SD) was used to describe high voxel activity in tumour (BPND>0.35). Tumour recurrence VOI was defined as contrast enhancement on the follow-up images. RESULTS The mean percentage overlap between high [11C](R)PK11195 BPND and [11C]methionine uptake was 48±17%. The mean percentage of each VOI showing exclusively high [11C](R)PK11195 BPND or exclusively high [11C]methionine was 25±21 or 27±22 respectively. The mean percentage overlap between high [11C](R)PK11195 and contrast enhancement is 36±14. The mean percentage of exclusively hight [11C](R)PK11195 or exclusively contrast enhancement were 38±18 or 26±25 respectively. The mean percentage overlap between high [11C]methionine and contrast enhancement were 47±12. The mean percentage of exclusively [11C]methionine or contrast enhancement were 36±20 or 17±17 respectively. The percentage volume overlap between contrast enhancing regions at recurrence and baseline [11C](R)PK11195 or [11C]methionine was 20±13 or 25±13 respectively. CONCLUSION The two PET tracers have high overlap although some regions are specific for high TSPO binding without high methionine uptake which could reflect an inflammatory component within the tumour microenvironment. The common regions between methionine and contrast enhancement is larger than TSPO binding which could represent that TSPO binding is less effected by disrupted blood-brain barrier. The mean percentage overlap with VOI representing tumour recurrence were similar.

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