The clinical impact of amino acid positron emission tomography measurements in the treatment of primary malignant brain tumors

Abstract

Despite the large-scale diagnostic and therapeutic progress of recent years, the heterogeneity and therapeutic management of adult primary malignant brain tumors pose a significant challenge to the attending physician. Based on the research and experience accumulated over the past two decades, the range of patients who can benefit the most from complex oncology treatment has been outlined, and it has been confirmed that a reliable complex diagnostic background is essential for adequate therapeutic management. However, after some necessary therapeutic steps, the "gold standard" magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not always able to accurately assess and diagnose post-therapeutic conditions. Thanks to the collaboration of the nuclear medicine and neuro-oncology professions, more and more types of radiotracer compounds are now available in more and more centers, including amino acid ligands and thus, positron emission tomography (PET) examinations with the radiopharmaceutical O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine. The metabolic state, as a kind of fourth dimension of imaging, is an essential part of adequate modern diagnostics. Combining advanced MRI techniques and PET-based (PET/CT, PET/MRI) measurements with a suitable tracer can place therapeutic decisions on a reliable basis. We present the clinical significance of amino acid-PET-based hybrid nuclear medicine imaging studies in the therapeutic management of these patients by reviewing the literature data on the practice of the method in Hungary and abroad and presenting the results of our retrospective summary research so far. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(32): 1247-1255.