SUV Values Research Articles

Preoperative omental metastasis-related maximum standardized fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake value can predict chemosensitivity and recurrence in advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to explore the clinical and prognostic implication of preoperative fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake value of omental metastasis-related in advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients (HGSC). We retrospectively investigated HGSC patients with omental metastasis (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIB-IV) who underwent PET/CT before primary surgery in our hospital between January 2010 and January 2016. All patients were confirmed omental metastasis by postoperative pathology. None of these patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PET/CT parameters, including maximum standardized uptake value of primary ovary tumor (SUVp), omental metastasis (SUVo), and omental metastasis-to-primary tumor (SUVo/p) were measured. The relationships between PET/CT parameters and clinical characteristics were analyzed by t-test. Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank tests were used to analyze progression-free survival (PFS) in univariate analysis. For multivariate analysis, COX regression analysis was used to assess the prognostic predictive value of PET/CT-derived variables. Totally 81 advanced HGSC patients with omental metastasis were enrolled in our study, and 49 (60.5%) patients experienced recurrence and disease progression. The median (range) follow-up time was 18.5 (7-72) months. Older patients showed higher level of SUVo/p (P=0.006). Chemosensitive patients had lower levels of SUVo (P=0.009) and SUVo/p (P<0.001) than those chemoresistant ones. In univariate analysis, patients with better PFS were associated with lower SUVo (P<0.001) and SUVo/p (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis found only SUVo/p was an independent factor for PFS (P=0.006). Preoperative SUVo/p measured by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT appeared to be an independent predictive factor for recurrence in advanced HGSC patients. Chemosensitive patients had lower omentum-related SUV values than those chemoresistant ones.

Kikuchi fujimoto disease mimicking lymphoma detected on pet-ct imaging in a pediatric patient

Kikuchi Fujimoto s disease KFH which is seen more often in young Asian women than in childhood is a rare benign feature of PET CT that can be confused with malignant lymphoma due to common cervical hypermetabolic lymphadenopathy and high SUV values In this interesting case report PET CT imaging findings of a rare Kikuchi Fujimoto disease mimicking lymphoma in a pediatric patient is presented

Impact of external cooling with icepacks on 68Ga-PSMA uptake in salivary glands

BackgroundExternal cooling of the salivary glands is advised to prevent xerostomia in lutetium-177-PSMA treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Since evidence addressing this subject is sparse, this study aims to determine impact of icepacks application on uptake in salivary glands. Eighty-nine patients referred for gallium-68-PSMA PET/CT for (re)staging of prostate cancer were prospectively included. Twenty-four patients were scanned with unilateral (solely left-sided) icepacks; 20 with bilateral icepacks; 45 without icepacks. Icepacks were applied approximately 30 minutes prior to tracer injection. PET/CT acquisition started 1 hour postinjection. Radiotracer uptake was measured in the parotid- and submandibular glands.ResultsWhen comparing the intervention group with the control group, uptake in the left parotid gland significantly differed: SUVmax: 11.07 ± 3.53 versus 12.95 ± 4.16; p = 0.02. SUVpeak: 9.91 ± 3.14 versus 11.45 ± 3.61; p = 0.04. SUVmax and SUVpeak were reduced with 14.52% and 13.45%. All other SUV values did not significantly differ. Patients with bilateral icepacks showed no significant differences in PSMA uptake compared to the control group (all: p > 0.05). Intra-patient analysis revealed some significant differences in SUVmax and SUVpeak between the cooled and non-cooled parotid gland (SUVmax: 11.12 ± 3.71 versus 12.69 ± 3.75; p = 0.00. SUVpeak: 9.93 ± 3.32 versus 11.25 ± 3.25; p = 0.00).ConclusionsImpact of icepacks on PSMA uptake seems to be limited to the parotid glands. As clinical relevance of these findings is debatable, structural application of icepacks in the setting of lutetium-177 PSMA therapy needs careful consideration.

Clustering approach to identify intratumour heterogeneity combining FDG PET and diffusion-weighted MRI in lung adenocarcinoma.

Malignant tumours consist of biologically heterogeneous components; identifying and stratifying those various subregions is an important research topic. We aimed to show the effectiveness of an intratumour partitioning method using clustering to identify highly aggressive tumour subregions, determining prognosis based on pre-treatment PET and DWI in stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. Eighteen patients who underwent both baseline PET and DWI were recruited. Pre-treatment imaging of SUV and ADC values were used to form intensity vectors within manually specified ROIs. We applied k-means clustering to intensity vectors to yield distinct subregions, then chose the subregion that best matched the criteria for high SUV and low ADC to identify tumour subregions with high aggressiveness. We stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups based on subregion volume with high aggressiveness and conducted survival analyses. This approach is referred to as the partitioning approach. For comparison, we computed tumour subregions with high aggressiveness without clustering and repeated the described procedure; this is referred to as the voxel-wise approach. The partitioning approach led to high-risk (median SUVmax = 14.25 and median ADC = 1.26x10-3 mm2/s) and low-risk (median SUVmax = 14.64 and median ADC = 1.09x10-3 mm2/s) subgroups. Our partitioning approach identified significant differences in survival between high- and low-risk subgroups (hazard ratio, 4.062, 95% confidence interval, 1.21 - 13.58, p-value: 0.035). The voxel-wise approach did not identify significant differences in survival between high- and low-risk subgroups (p-value: 0.325). Our partitioning approach identified intratumour subregions that were predictors of survival. • Multimodal imaging of PET and DWI is useful for assessing intratumour heterogeneity. • Data-driven clustering identified subregions which might be highly aggressive for lung adenocarcinoma. • The data-driven partitioning results might be predictors of survival.

Serotonin 1A receptor density measured by F18-Mefway PET/CT in mesiotemporal cortex and raphe does not discriminate therapeutic response in patients with major depressive episode.

More than 50% of patients with major depressive episode (MDE) fail to respond to initial treatment with first line pharmacological therapy. Altered receptor and serotonin transporter function are considered to be associated with mental disorders. Our investigation aimed on the density of the HT1A receptor in mesiotemporal cortex (MTC) and raphe measured by F18-Mefway in patients with MDD. Patients with untreated clinically suspected major depressive episode were recruited from June 2012 to May 2014. 49 patients were included into the study: 36 patients (73%) were identified as responders, whereas 13 (27%) were non-responders. Gender distribution was 26 men (56%) and 23 women (44%). For treatment, only a standard medication of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) with escitalopram in a range of 10-20 mg/day was permitted. Responders were defined by improvement of the MADRS>50%. Visually MTC had the highest uptake of F18-Mefway among all brain regions, an asymmetry could not be observed in any patient. An elliptical region was drawn over the amygdala and hippocampus area and a small circular region was drawn over the raphe nuclei. All data were calculated related to (unspecific) cerebellar uptake. The quotient of the right MTC was 5.00 [4.33; 5.50] in all patients, in responders 5.00 [4.00; 5.75] and in non-responders 5.00 [4.50; 5.50] (P=0.56). The quotient of the left MTC presented with a median level of 4.50 [4.50; 5.50] in all persons. The responders had 4.50 [4.50; 5.75] which was not statistically significant to the data of the non-responders with 5.00 [4.50; 5.50] at P=0.64. The raphe had a median quotient of 2.50 [2.00; 3.00] in all and the cohort of responders, whereas non-responders had 2.50 [2.00; 2.50] (P=0.61). Also the absolute values of SUV in the three brain regions were not statistically different between the cohorts. Additionally, we did not find any sex-related differences in our patient group. Serotonin 1A receptor density can be assessed efficiently by F18-Mefway and PET-CT in patients with MDE. The method can be estimated as a possible tool for clinical and academic investigation, marked tracer uptake can constantly be observed at MTC and the raphe. Anyhow, under conditions of real life in patient care, it is not possible to distinguish patients with a good prognosis who will respond to standard SSRI therapy from non-responders who would benefit from a different therapeutic approach starting earlier.

Local wisdom of Cikondang village community in the utilization of medicinal plants

This study aims to analyze local wisdom Cikondang community in the use of medicinal plants. This research used qualitative method with emic and ethical approach to explain the relationship of public knowledge about the type and utilization of medicinal plants in the view of science. Determination of respondents conducted by purposive sampling, taken 30% of the total respondent. The data of the knowledge of the use of medicinal plants obtained through interview techniques as many as 39 respondents. Cikondang people know 27 known medicinal plants and commonly used. Zingiberaceae family has a type that is more widely used as a medicinal plant. The most widely used plant part is leaf and medicinal plant processing which mostly done by boiling. The species with the highest value of use is owned by Curcuma longa L. with a value of 4.28, which states important species / priorities, while the species with the lowest SUV value is Aracchis hypogaea L. of 0.15, which states species are less important and can be replaced by other plants.

İleri evre larenks kanserinde tedavi öncesi fonksiyonel görüntülemeye dayalı biyobelirteçlerin öngördürücü ve prognostik değeri

Objective: To determine the quantitative values of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), standardized uptake values (SUVmax, SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), metabolic tumor volume indexes (MTImax, and MTImean) using diffusion weighted-MRI (DW-MRI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and analyze the predictive and prognostic values of these biomarkers in a homogenous group of patients with advanced-stage laryngeal cancer. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage laryngeal cancer who had both DW-MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT before treatment, and who had curative cancer treatment (surgery ± adjuvant therapy or radio ± chemotherapy) between 2011 and 2015 were included in this study. All patients were followed up clinically and radiologically, if necessary every 3 months for the first 2 years, every 4-6 months for year 3, and then annually thereafter. Results: Thirty-eight patients were retrospectively analyzed. Our analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences when the pretreatment SUV and MTImean value were compared between patients with stages III and IV. Standardized uptake value was also a predictive factor for N-stage. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was determined when patients with and without perinodal involvement (PNI) were compared. Log rank analysis demonstrated that none of functional imaging-based biomarkers had a prognostic role for oncological outcomes. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that pretreatment SUV and MTImean values were predictive factors for staging, N-stage and PNI. Indeed, functional imaging-based biomarkers are promising, novel, non-invasive techniques that may provide additional information about tumor characteristics, treatment selection and prognosis in the near future.

Evaluation of Pre- and Post-IMRT FDG-PET SUV Values for the Prediction of Tumor Control In HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients

Evaluation of Pre- and Post-IMRT FDG-PET SUV Values for the Prediction of Tumor Control In HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients

Abstract 147: Plaque Inflammation is Associated With Early Cerebral Ischemic Events in Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis

Background and aims: Currently, the severity of the symptomatic carotid stenosis determines the treatment approach. However, it explains only the regional hypoperfusion as the mechanism of cerebral ischemia. Artery-to-artery embolisation remains an important pathogenic mechanism in patients with high-risk carotid plaques. Recently, inflammation has been proposed as the initiating event for plaque rupture and cerebral embolism. Using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), we investigated the role of plaque imaging and stroke recurrence in our cohort of patients with recently symptomatic carotid stenosis. Methods: This ongoing prospective study included consecutive patients within 30-days of recent stroke and ipsilateral carotid stenosis (≥50%). FDG uptake was quantified as mean standardized uptake values (SUV, g/ml). The ratio of T1 hyperintensity of carotid plaque to the ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) was recorded on T1-weighted fat suppressed HR-MRI. Patients were followed prospectively for stroke recurrence within 90-days. Results: Of the 70 patients included in the study, 11 (16%) suffered from recurrent cerebral ischemic event in the same vascular territory within 90-days. Compared to patients without subsequent cerebral ischemic events, patients with recurrent cerebral ischemia showed higher mean T1 carotid-SCM ratio (2.24 versus 1.46; p&lt;0.0001) and higher mean SUV value in the carotid plaque (3.26g/ml versus 1.28g/ml; p&lt;0.0001). Higher T1 carotid-SCM ratio on HR-MRI (OR 3.374, 95%CI 1.561-6.253; p&lt;0.0001), higher mean SUV on FDG-PET (OR 3.646, 95%CI 3.172-11.524; p=0.005) were independent predictors of recurrent cerebral ischemia. Conclusions: FDG-PET/CT and HR-MRI of carotid stenosis helps in identification of patients at higher risk of subsequent cerebral ischemic events and may aid in better therapeutic decision-making.

Preoperative imaging of Charcot neuroarthropathy: Does the additional application of (18)F-FDG-PET make sense?

With about 4 million diabetics in germany and presumed inclination over the following years the treatment of diabetic complications like diabetic foot will become an even more important point. The management of Charcot's foot has undergone fundamental change in the last few years. Formerly, treatment was almost exclusively limited to non surgical measures; since the late 1990's, however, current practice has shifted to early, stage-appropriate surgical therapy. The aim of the present prospective study was to investigate the value of positron emission tomography (PET) in the pre-operative work-up of Charcot's foot. PET were compared to magnetic resonance tomography (MRI). MRI and PET imaging were used as part of the preoperative work-up in 18 patients with Type II diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis of Charcot's foot requiring surgical treatment were made on the basis of clinical and radiologic criteria. Of 46 Charcot's lesions confirmed at surgery, 44 and 35 were detected by means of PET and MRI, respectively. PET can be used in the work-up of patients with metal implants where the MRI does not show adequate findings. PET shows the areas of detritus formation exhibit only moderately increased glucose metabolism and at visual interpretation do not usually impression as typical for acute osteomyelitis. Average SUV values stood at 1.2 (range: 0.5-2.9). The differentiation between Charcot's lesions and florid osteomyelitis provides the surgeon with important additional information, which is often unavailable from MRI. Because of this important additional data, PET could be considered preferable to morphologic imaging (CT, projection radiography) in the preoperative work-up of Charcot's foot.

Correlation between glycolytic activity on [18F]-FDG-PET and cell density on diffusion-weighted MRI in lymphoma at staging.

[18F]-FDG-PET/MR carries a high diagnostic value in whole-body oncologic imaging and allows simultaneous quantitative measurements of glucose metabolism (SUV) and cell density (ADC). To determine the relationship between SUV and ADC values extracted from simultaneously acquired [18F]-FDG-PET/MR data of patients with FDG-avid lymphomas at staging. Prospective. Patients with histologically proven lymphoma referred for staging. Hybrid PET/MR device (3T); axial, two-point Dixon, 3D, volume-interpolated, T1 -weighted breath-hold sequence; coronal T2 -weighted half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo. Single-shot, echo-planar imaging-based, spectral adiabatic inversion recovery diffusion-weighted imaging. Staging was performed according to the modified Ann Arbor system by a board-certified radiologist and a board-certified nuclear medicine physician, blinded to the clinical and histological information, in consensus. SUVs and ADCs values were collected, for each positive nodal and extranodal region, from the lesion demonstrating the largest diameter. Descriptive data included absolute frequencies and percentages for categorical data, and arithmetic means and 95% confidence intervals for scale-type data. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between SUVs and ADCs (P ≤ 0.05). Additional separate analyses were performed according to histological lymphoma subtype, for nodal and extranodal lesions and excluding bone lesions. Overall, 100 patients were examined (55 males, 45 females; age ± SD in years, 51.6 ± 19.5). Histology revealed Hodgkin-lymphoma and non-Hodgkin-lymphoma in 26 and 74 patients, respectively. Twenty patients were stage I, 21 stage II, 24 stage III, and 31 stage IV on [18F]-FDG-PET/MR (ie, four patients negative at imaging). Based on 391 lesions (ie, 367 excluding bone lesions) no significant correlations between SUVmax and ADCmin, or between SUVmean and ADCmean, emerged (respectively, r = 0.091, P = 0.073, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.19] and r = -0.032, P = 0.527, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.07] including bone lesions; r = 0.06, P = 0.21, 95% CI [-0.04, 0.17] and r = -0.05, P = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.15, 0.05] excluding bone lesions). A significant correlation was observed only between ADCmean and SUVmean for follicular lymphoma (r = -0.33, P = 0.001). SUVs and ADCs were demonstrated to be independent biomarkers in lymphomas. A moderate correlation between SUVs and ADCs likely is present in follicular lymphoma. 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1217-1226.

Doxorubicin Effect on Myocardial Metabolism as a Prerequisite for Subsequent Development of Cardiac Toxicity: A Translational 18F-FDG PET/CT Observation.

The present translational study aimed to verify whether serial 18F-FDG PET/CT predicts doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. Methods: Fifteen athymic mice were treated intravenously with saline (n = 5) or with 5 or 7.5 mg of doxorubicin per kilogram (n = 5 each) and underwent dynamic small-animal PET beforehand and afterward to estimate left ventricular (LV) metabolic rate of glucose (MRGlu). Thereafter, we retrospectively identified 69 patients who had been successfully treated with a regimen of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine for Hodgkin disease (HD) and had undergone 4 consecutive 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Volumes of interest were drawn on LV myocardium to quantify mean SUV. All patients were subsequently interviewed by telephone (median follow-up, 30 mo); 36 of them agreed to undergo electrocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography. Results: In mice, LV MRGlu was 17.9 ± 4.4 nmol × min-1 × g-1 at baseline. Doxorubicin selectively and dose-dependently increased this value in the standard-dose (27.9 ± 9 nmol × min-1 × g-1, P < 0.05 vs. controls) and high-dose subgroups (37.2 ± 7.8 nmol × min-1 × g-1, P < 0.01 vs. controls, P < 0.05 vs. standard-dose). In HD patients, LV SUV showed a progressive increase during doxorubicin treatment that persisted at follow-up. New-onset cardiac abnormalities appeared in 11 of 36 patients (31%). In these subjects, pretherapy LV SUV was markedly lower with respect to the remaining patients (1.53 ± 0.9 vs. 3.34 ± 2.54, respectively, P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis confirmed the predictive value of baseline LV SUV for subsequent cardiac abnormalities. Conclusion: Doxorubicin dose-dependently increases LV MRGlu, particularly in the presence of low baseline 18F-FDG uptake. These results imply that low myocardial 18F-FDG uptake before the initiation of doxorubicin chemotherapy in HD patients may predict the development of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, suggesting that prospective clinical trials are warranted to test this hypothesis.

Phase 1 study of the bone-targeting cytotoxic conjugate, etidronate-cytosine arabinoside (MBC-11), in cancer patients with bone metastases.

2589 Background: MBC-11 is a first-in-class therapeutic conjugate of the bone targeting bisphosphonate etidronate covalently linked to the antimetabolite cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C). In preclinical studies, MBC-11 localizes at the site of cancer-induced bone disease (CIBD) where it demonstrates both antiresorptive and antitumor activities following local release of Ara-C. Robust efficacy was observed in several rodent models of CIBD, as well as in spontaneous osteosarcoma in dogs. Herein, the results of the first-in-human study of MBC-11 are reported. Methods: Patients with advanced solid cancers and CIBD were treated with escalating doses (0.5-10 mg/kg/day) of MBC-11 administered as an intravenous infusion daily for 5 days every 4 weeks for up to 4 cycles. Fifteen patients (prostate cancer [PC; 7], breast cancer [BC; 7], cervical cancer [1]) received 38 total cycles. The study sought to characterize the safety, pharmacokinetics, and the effects of MBC-11 on bone turnover, and tumor response by 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging and tumor biomarkers. Results: Myelosuppression was generally grade 1-2, involved all lineages, and was the principal toxicity of MBC-11. Two of three patients treated at the 10 mg/kg dose level had dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), each with both grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was 5 mg/kg. Four of 5 patients with pretreatment elevations of the bone resorption marker Trap5b had persistent decrements. 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging demonstrated partial metabolic responses in 3 patients; one BC patient treated at the 0.5 mg/kg and two CRPC patients treated at 1.0 mg/kg dose levels. An additional 3 patients had stable metabolic responses according to PERSIST. SUV values were reduced by at least 25% in 111 (53.8%) of 206 measurable bone lesions; significant activity was noted at all doses. Conclusions: At doses that were well tolerated and even much lower than the MTD, MBC-11 treatment resulted in substantial reductions in metabolic activity in CIBD patients, providing a foundation for further disease-directed studies to further assess efficacy. Clinical trial information: NCT02673060.

Whole body PD-1 and PD-L1 PET with 89Zr-nivolumab and 18F- BMS-986192 in pts with NSCLC.

e20047 Background: Tumor PD-L1 IHC relates moderately with treatment outcome following anti-PD-(L)1 monotherapy in pts with NSCLC. Aim: 1. To assess safety of the PET procedures. 2. To quantify PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in tumors with 89Zirconium-labeled nivolumab (89Zr-nivo) and 18F-labeled BMS-986192 (18F-PD-L1) PET. 3. To assess intra- and inter-patient tracer uptake differences in tumors. 4. To correlate PET results with IHC and treatment outcome. Methods: NSCLC pts eligible for treatment with nivolumab were included. Pts received a dynamic and static whole body 18F-PD-L1 and a static 89Zr-nivo PET scan. A baseline tumor biopsy was required and up to two additional biopsies were allowed in case PET showed heterogeneous tumor uptake. SUVpeak was calculated for all delineable tumor lesions and related to PD-(L)1 IHC (28.8 assay) and response after 6 wks of nivolumab treatment. Results: 7 pts (5 ≥1%, 2 ≥50% and 2 negative by PD-L1 IHC) were enrolled and 11 lesions analyzed. No toxicity related to radiotracer administration was identified. Tumor uptake of both tracers was visualized in all pts. There was substantial variability among pts for 18F-PD-L1 (mean SUV 5.4, range 2.2 - 14.4) and 89Zr-nivo (mean SUV 5.0, range 1.6 - 9.7). Intra-patient tracer uptake heterogeneity was also seen: mean 2.5-fold (±0.96) and 2.3-fold (±0.86) differences between lesions for 18F-PD-L1 and 89Zr-nivo SUV, respectively. For lesions with &lt; 50% PD-L1 IHC mean 18F-PD-L1 SUV was 3.4 (±2.9) as compared to 7.1 (±6.0) for lesions with ≥50% PD-L1 IHC (p = 0.22). For lesions with low PD-1 expression mean 89Zr-nivo SUV was 6.9 (±2.7) as compared to 8.1 (±2.0) for lesions with high PD-1 expression (p = 0.44). Five pts were evaluable for response evaluation: 1 PR, 2 SD and 2 PD with 18F-PD-L1 SUV values (most PET avid lesion) of 14.4 (PR), 2.0 and 5.4 (SD) and 6.4 and 6.6 (PD). Conclusion: 1.PET-imaging with both tracers is safe and feasible, with good tumor-to-normal tissue contrast. 2. Tumor uptake demonstrated substantial heterogeneity among pts and among tumors within the same pts. 3. Although higher 18F-PD-L1 tumor uptake was seen in pts with ≥50% tumor PD-L1 IHC and the highest 18F-PD-L1 SUV was measured in the responding pt, the dataset is still very small. Clinical trial information: 2015-004760-11.

Is there a correlation between serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA level and tumor metabolic activity, TNM staging and tumor load in nasopharyngeal cancer patients?

e17543 Background: To investigate the relationship between pretreatment Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA copy number and tumor metabolic activity, TNM stage and tumor volume in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients. Methods: Blood samples were collected 0-3 weeks before treatment and number of EBV DNA copies were determined by PCR . MRI and PET-CT were performed 0-4 weeks before treatment. The primary tumor volume (TVnp) and total volume of metastatic lymph nodes (TLV) were delineated separately on MRI by the same radiologist by the aid of program “Osirix” and recorded in cm3. Maximum SUV values of primary tumor (Tsuv) and metastatic lymph nodes (LNsuv) were determined with each PET-CT images. Kruskal Wallis test and Spearman's Correlation Analysis were used for the comparison of 3 or more groups with no normal distribution and the evaluation of the inter-parameter relations, respectively. Results: The study included 50 NPC patients treated between 2011 and 2015. There was no significant relation between serum EBV DNA copy number and the distribution of T stage (p = 0.81), N stage (p = 0.08), TVnp (r:0.009; p = 0.95), and Tsuv (r:-0.007, p = 0.96). However, a significant correlation was detected between EBV DNA copy number and both LNsuv (r:0.337; p = 0.017) and TLV (r:0.579; p = 0.001) (LNsuv and TLV increased as virus load increased). Conclusions: There is no significant relation between pretreatment EBV DNA load and T and N stages and TVnp in NPC patients. However, EBV DNA load has a significant correlation with TLV and LNsuv. These results may imply that TLV can be included in nodal staging and together with LNsuv be integrated in treatment planning.[Table: see text] [Table: see text]

Prognostic value of bone marrow 18F-FDG uptake on PET/CT in lymphoma patients with negative bone marrow involvement.

The study evaluated the significance of 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake of bone marrow (BM) for predicting progression-free survival (PFS) in lymphoma patients without BM involvement. Ninety-five patients with histopathologically proven lymphoma, 7 Hodgkin's lymphoma and 88 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, who underwent 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and BM biopsy for staging work-up and 40 normal subjects were retrospectively enrolled. Maximal 18F-FDG uptake of lymphoma (Lmax), mean 18F-FDG uptake of BM (BM SUV) and BM-to-liver uptake ratio (BLR) were measured. Prognostic value of BM SUV and BLR for predicting PFS were assessed. Of the 95 patients, 35 (36.8%) were histopathologically or clinically diagnosed with BM involvement of lymphoma. There were significant differences of BLR among lymphoma patients with/without BM involvement and normal subjects (P<0.05). For all patients, high risk indicated by International Prognostic Index (IPI) score and Lmax were significantly associated with PFS on multivariate analysis (P<0.05). For 60 patients without BM involvement, BM SUV and BLR were independent prognostic factors for PFS along with performance status and Lmax (p<0.05). Among patients without BM involvement, high 18F-FDG uptake of BM was associated with significantly worse PFS than low 18F-FDG uptake of BM, with no significant difference in PFS apparent compared to patients with BM involvement. In lymphoma patients without BM involvement, 18F-FDG uptake of BM was significantly associated with worse PFS. Patients with high 18F-FDG uptake of BM showed similar prognosis to those with BM involvement.

The ralationship between SUV values in PET/CT and clinical staging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective:The purpose of this study was to research the relationship between SUVmax-T, SUVmaxN and SUVmax value in the PET/CT and clinical stage in patients of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).Method:Collect the clinical data and SUX values of Fifty-four patients.The statistical analyses were performed by SPSS21.0 statistical software for Windows and the Pearson correlation analysis was used for data analysis. Result:SUVmaxT was significantly associated with T stage and clinical stage(P<0.05);SUVmaxN was significantly associated with N stage and clinical stage(P<0.01);SUVmax was significantly associated with T stage, N stage and clinical stage(P<0.01); there was no statistically significant difference betweeen SUVmax and pathology (P>0.05). Conclusion:The SUV values in PET/CT were associated with clinical stage of nasopharyngeal carcinioma(NPC).

The feasibility of semi-automatically generated red bone marrow segmentations based on MR-only for patients with gynecologic cancer

PurposeFor patients with cervical cancer the delivery of chemotherapy with radiotherapy improves survival compared with radiotherapy alone. However, high rates of acute hematologic toxicity occur when combining both therapies due to the damage of the red bone marrow (RBM). This study aimed to reduce the radiation damage to the RBM. A tool has been developed for semi-automatic delineation of the red bone marrow based on MR-only. This delineation can be included into the treatment planning process to reduce the volume of RBM irradiated in patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy. Methods13 patients with cervical cancer were enrolled. All the patients underwent MR, CT and FDG-PET imaging. A tool for RBM determination from water and fat MR images was developed. Our MR-based RBM tool was optimized and validated with the FDG-PET scans of the patients. ResultsOur tool identified RBM regions in the pelvic area. The mean total volume of these regions was 34% of the pelvic bone marrow. The corresponding SUV values based on the FDG-PET scans were above the reported threshold of active/red bone marrow. ConclusionThis study shows that delineations of the RBM for the radiotherapy with RBM sparing can be generated semi-automatically using MR scans only.

Abstract TMP119: Early Cerebral Ischemic Events in Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis are Related to Plaque Inflammation

Background and aims: Symptomatic carotid stenosis is associated with an increased risk of early stroke recurrence. Severity of the stenosis, current basis of revascularization, explains only the cerebral ischemic mechanism of regional hypoperfusion. Plaque inflammation, the initiating event for plaque rupture and thromboembolism (artery-to-artery embolism), is not evaluated routinely. Using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), we investigated the role of plaque imaging and stroke recurrence in our cohort of stroke patients with recently symptomatic carotid stenosis. Methods: This ongoing prospective study included consecutive patients within 30-days of recent stroke and ipsilateral carotid stenosis (≥50%). FDG uptake was quantified as mean standardized uptake values (SUV, g/ml). The ratio of T1 hyperintensity of carotid plaque to the ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) was recorded on T1-weighted fat suppressed images. Patients were followed prospectively for stroke recurrence within 90-days. Embolic potential of carotid plaque is estimated by presence of spontaneous microembolic signals (MES) on extended transcranial Doppler monitoring of ipsilateral middle cerebral artery. Results: Of the 33 patients included in the study, 6 (18%) suffered from recurrent cerebral ischemic event in the same vascular territory within 90-days. Compared to patients without subsequent cerebral ischemic events, patients with recurrent cerebral ischemia showed higher mean T1 carotid-SCM ratio (2.49 versus 1.53; p&lt;0.0001) and higher mean SUV value in the carotid plaque (3.52g/ml versus 1.51g/ml; p&lt;0.0001). Higher T1 carotid-SCM ratio on HR-MRI (OR 4.249, 95%CI 1.818-5.18; p&lt;0.0001), higher mean SUV on FDG-PET (OR 3.050, 95%CI 5.586-28.571; p=0.005) and MES on TCD (OR 2.186, 95%CI 1.652-47.619;p=0.037) were independent predictors of recurrent cerebral ischemia. Conclusions: FDG-PET/CT and HR-MRI imaging of carotid stenosis helps in identification of patients at higher risk of subsequent cerebral ischemic events and may aid in better therapeutic decision-making.

Clinical Translation and First In-Human Use of [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 for PET Imaging of Metastasized Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Background: Various trivalent radiometals are well suited for labeling of DOTA-conjugated variants of Glu-ureido-based prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) inhibitors. The DOTA-conjugate PSMA-617 has proven high potential in PSMA radioligand therapy (PSMA-RLT) of prostate cancer as well as PET imaging when labeled with lutetium-177 and gallium-68 respectively. Considering the relatively short physical half-life of gallium-68 this positron emitter precludes prolonged acquisition periods, as required for pre-therapeutic dosimetry or intraoperative applications. In this context, the positron emitter scandium-44 is an attractive alternative for PET imaging. We report the synthesis of [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 as radiopharmaceutical with generator produced scandium-44, its in vitro characterization and clinical translation as part of a first in-human study.Methods: Scandium-44 was obtained from a 44Ti/44Sc radionuclide generator. PSMA-617 was labeled with 142.4±12.7 MBq of scandium-44 in analogy to [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-617 and evaluated in vitro and in cell studies using PSMA+ LNCaP cells. A first-in-human investigation was subsequently carried out in a cohort of 4 patients (mean age 70±1.8 a) registered for [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 therapy. 50.5±9.3 MBq (40 µg, 38.4 nmol) [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 were applied via intravenous injection (i.v.), respectively. A Siemens Biograph 2 PET/CT system was used to acquire initial dynamic PET data (30 min) of abdomen in list mode followed by static PET/CT data (skull to mid-thigh) at 45 min, 2 and 18 h post-injection (p.i.). For quantitative analysis, dynamic images were reconstructed as 6 data sets of 300 s each. The noise ratio was measured in liver, lung and an additional region outside the body. SUV values in different organs and lesions were measured and compared to [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 data of the same patients. Residence times and organ absorbed doses were calculated using OLINDA/EXM software.Results: Quantitative radiochemical yields of ≥98 % were achieved using 18 nmol of PSMA-617 after 20 min at 95 °C with apparent molar activity of 6.69±0.78 MBq/nmol. Following purification, >99 % radiochemical purity was obtained. [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 showed high stability (>95 %) in serum for 24 h. The binding affinity and internalization fraction were determined in PSMA+ LNCaP cells (IC50 = 4.72±0.7 nM and internalization fraction: 15.78±2.14 % IA/106 LNCaP cells) and compared to [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 (12.0±2.8 nM and 9.47±2.56 % IA/106 LNCaP cells). Physiological tracer uptake was observed in kidneys, liver, spleen, small intestine, urinary bladder, and salivary glands and pathological uptake in both soft and skeletal metastases. SUV values were significantly lower in the kidneys (14.0) compared to [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 OET (30.5). All other measured SUV values did not show a statistically significant difference. Tumor to liver ratios were found to lie between 1.9 and 8.3 for [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 and between 2.5 and 8.8 for [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 after 120 min. For [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 the ratios were higher and no statistically significant differences were observed. Total and % activity were highest in liver followed by kidneys, spleen, small intestine and salivary glands. Rapid wash out was seen in liver and spleen and gradually over time in kidneys. Kidneys received the highest radiation absorbed dose of 0.354 (0.180-0.488) mSv/MBq. No adverse pharmacological effects were observed.Conclusion: In conclusion [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 PET is suitable for PET imaging of prostate cancer tissue. [44Sc]Sc-PSMA-617 shows promise to enable pre-therapeutic dosimetry in clinical settings. However, the clinical advantages for individual dosimetry or other applications like intraoperative applications have to be investigated in further studies.