Unconventional non-amino acidic PET radiotracers for molecular imaging in gliomas.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The objective of this review was to explore the potential clinical application of unconventional non-amino acid PET radiopharmaceuticals in patients with gliomas.

METHODS:

A comprehensive search strategy was used based on SCOPUS and PubMed databases using the following string: ("perfusion" OR "angiogenesis" OR "hypoxia" OR "neuroinflammation" OR proliferation OR invasiveness) AND ("brain tumor" OR "glioma") AND ("Positron Emission Tomography" OR PET). From all studies published in English, the most relevant articles were selected for this review, evaluating the mostly used PET radiopharmaceuticals in research centers, beyond amino acid radiotracers and 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([18F]FDG), for the assessment of different biological features, such as perfusion, angiogenesis, hypoxia, neuroinflammation, cell proliferation, tumor invasiveness, and other biological characteristics in patients with glioma.

RESULTS:

At present, the use of non-amino acid PET radiopharmaceuticals specifically designed to assess perfusion, angiogenesis, hypoxia, neuroinflammation, cell proliferation, tumor invasiveness, and other biological features in glioma is still limited.

CONCLUSION:

The use of investigational PET radiopharmaceuticals should be further explored considering their promising potential and studies specifically designed to validate these preliminary findings are needed. In the clinical scenario, advancements in the development of new PET radiopharmaceuticals and new imaging technologies (e.g., PET/MR and the application of the artificial intelligence to medical images) might contribute to improve the clinical translation of these novel radiotracers in the assessment of gliomas.

• Authors: R Laudicella, N Quartuccio, G Argiroffi, P Alongi, L Baratto, E Califaretti, V Frantellizzi, G De Vincentis, A Del Sole, L Evangelista, S Baldari, S Bisdas, Francesco Ceci, Andrei Iagaru, Young Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine (AIMN) group
• Journal: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging (Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging) Vol. 48 Issue 12 Pg. 3925-3939 (11 2021) ISSN: 1619-7089 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 33851243 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Chemical References

• Radiopharmaceuticals
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18

Topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• Brain Neoplasms (diagnostic imaging)
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
• Glioma (diagnostic imaging)
• Humans
• Molecular Imaging
• Positron-Emission Tomography
• Radiopharmaceuticals
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed