Abstract | PURPOSE: The diagnostic accuracy of [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET is insufficient to characterise hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in liver masses and to diagnose all cases of recurrent HCC. HCC has been reported to take up [(11)C] acetate, but routine use of this tracer is difficult. Choline is another tracer of lipid metabolism, present in large amounts in HCC. In a proof-of-concept study, we evaluated [(18)F] fluorocholine (FCH) uptake by HCC and compared FCH PET/CT with FDG PET/CT. METHODS: Twelve patients with newly diagnosed (n=8) or recurrent HCC (n=4) were prospectively enrolled. HCC was assessed by histology in eight cases and by American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) criteria in four cases. All patients underwent whole-body PET/CT 10 min after injection of 4 MBq/kg FCH. Within 1 week, 9 of the 12 patients also underwent whole-body FDG PET/CT 1 h after injection of 5 MBq/kg FDG. RESULTS: The per-patient analysis showed a detection rate of 12/12 using FCH PET/CT for both newly diagnosed and recurrent HCC. The median signal to noise ratio was 1.5+/-0.38. There was a trend towards a higher FCH SUV(max) in well-differentiated HCC (15.6+/-7.9 vs 11.9+/-0.9, NS). Of the nine patients who underwent FCH and FDG PET/CT, all nine were positive with FCH whereas only five were positive with FDG. CONCLUSION: FCH provides a high detection rate for HCC, making it potentially useful in the initial evaluation of HCC or in the detection of recurrent disease. The favourable result of this proof-of-concept study opens the way to a phase III prospective study.
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Authors | Jean-Noël Talbot, Fabrice Gutman, Laetitia Fartoux, Jean-Didier Grange, Nathalie Ganne, Khaldoun Kerrou, Dany Grahek, Françoise Montravers, Raoul Poupon, Olivier Rosmorduc |
Journal | European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging
(Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging)
Vol. 33
Issue 11
Pg. 1285-9
(Nov 2006)
ISSN: 1619-7070 [Print] Germany |
PMID | 16802155
(Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
- fluorocholine
- Choline
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Topics |
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
(diagnosis)
- Choline
(analogs & derivatives)
- Feasibility Studies
- Female
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
- Humans
- Liver Neoplasms
(diagnostic imaging)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Pilot Projects
- Positron-Emission Tomography
(methods)
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Reproducibility of Results
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Subtraction Technique
- Tomography, X-Ray Computed
(methods)
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