Dynamic O-(2-18F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine positron emission tomography differentiates brain metastasis recurrence from radiation injury after radiotherapy

Garry Ceccon, Philipp Lohmann, Gabriele Stoffels, Natalie Judov, Christian P Filss, Marion Rapp, Elena Bauer, Christina Hamisch, Maximilian I Ruge, Martin Kocher, Klaus Kuchelmeister, Bernd Sellhaus, Michael Sabel, Gereon R Fink, Nadim J Shah, Karl-Josef Langen, Norbert Galldiks*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of dynamic O-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine ((18)F-FET) PET for differentiating local recurrent brain metastasis from radiation injury after radiotherapy since contrast-enhanced MRI often remains inconclusive.

METHODS: Sixty-two patients (mean age, 55 ± 11 y) with single or multiple contrast-enhancing brain lesions (n = 76) on MRI after radiotherapy of brain metastases (predominantly stereotactic radiosurgery) were investigated with dynamic (18)F-FET PET. Maximum and mean tumor-to-brain ratios (TBRmax, TBRmean) of (18)F-FET uptake were determined (20-40 min postinjection) as well as tracer uptake kinetics (ie, time-to-peak and slope of time-activity curves). Diagnoses were confirmed histologically (34%; 26 lesions in 25 patients) or by clinical follow-up (66%; 50 lesions in 37 patients). Diagnostic accuracies of PET parameters for the correct identification of recurrent brain metastasis were evaluated by receiver-operating-characteristic analyses or the chi-square test.

RESULTS: TBRs were significantly higher in recurrent metastases (n = 36) than in radiation injuries (n = 40) (TBRmax 3.3 ± 1.0 vs 2.2 ± 0.4, P < .001; TBRmean 2.2 ± 0.4 vs 1.7 ± 0.3, P < .001). The highest accuracy (88%) for diagnosing local recurrent metastasis could be obtained with TBRs in combination with the slope of time-activity curves (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm previous preliminary observations that the combined evaluation of the TBRs of (18)F-FET uptake and the slope of time-activity curves can differentiate local brain metastasis recurrence from radiation-induced changes with high accuracy. (18)F-FET PET may thus contribute significantly to the management of patients with brain metastases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)281-288
Number of pages8
JournalNeuro-oncology
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2017

Keywords

  • FET PET
  • kinetic analysis
  • radiation-induced changes
  • radionecrosis
  • stereotactic radiosurgery
  • LOW-GRADE GLIOMA
  • STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY
  • F-18-FET PET
  • O-(2-F-18-FLUOROETHYL)-L-TYROSINE PET
  • TUMOR RECURRENCE
  • IMAGING CHANGES
  • UPTAKE KINETICS
  • NECROSIS
  • DIAGNOSIS

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