Comparative Evaluation of F-18 FDOPA, F-18 FDG, and F-18 FLT-PET/CT for Metabolic Imaging of Low Grade Gliomas

Abstract

F-18 FDOPA scan is superior to both F-18 FLT and F-18 FDG for visualization of primary and recurrent low grade gliomas. F-18-FLT should not be considered for evaluation of recurrent low grade gliomas.

Value of 18F-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine PET/MR Image Fusion in Pediatric Supratentorial Infiltrative Astrocytomas: A Prospective Pilot Study

“…When compared with 18 F-FDG, presently the most widely available PET tracer, amino-acid analogs have shown higher sensitivity to gliomas because of the higher tumor-to-normal-tissue background ratios (9). Among amino-acid PET tracers, 18 F-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( 18 F-DOPA) is largely unexplored in pediatric brain tumors, with only 3 children evaluated in prior studies (10,11), and no data are available specifically regarding IAs. In this prospective study, we evaluated the diagnostic role, clinical contribution, and prognostic value of fused 18 F-DOPA PET/MR images in a selected population of pediatric patients with supratentorial IAs.…”

Utility of F-18 Fluorothymidine PET Over F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT in Detection of a Recurrent Glioma

“…3 In the present case (a grade II astrocytoma), though the FDG uptake was very high (SUVmax, 15.0) but FLT showed definite abnormal uptake and identified the exact distribution of the recurrent lesions.…”

“…Several studies have reported the utility of F-18 FLT in predicting the grade of gliomas. [3][4][5][6][7][8] Yamamoto et al in their study demonstrated significant correlation between metabolic volumes of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and the volumes defined on MRI. 9 FLT was also better than methionine in tumor grading.…”

“…Tracers like GHA, FLT, dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and methionine [2][3][4][5] have an advantage in this respect as there is no physiological uptake of these tracers in the brain tissue. PET images have better resolution than SPECT images.…”

Current Molecular Imaging Positron Emitting Radiotracers in Oncology

“…FDOPA-PET has clinical utility in brain tumor imaging [24,25]. A study comparing FDOPA and FDG for the detection of primary and recurrent brain tumors in 30 patients showed that FDOPA had a sensitivity of 96%, as opposed to 61% for FDG [26].…”