We studied the metabolic characteristics of RCC subtypes and angiomyolipoma with 18F-FDG and 11C-acetate PET/CT.
METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with both baseline CT and dual-tracer PET/CT were recruited: 10 angiomyolipoma (16 lesions) and 48 RCC (50 lesions). Each lesion was assessed for SUVmax ratio (lesion-to-normal kidney) on 11C-acetate/18F-FDG PET and attenuation density on CT. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was analyzed to define the threshold of 11C-acetate SUVmax ratio for differentiating angiomyolipoma from RCC. Thirty-nine RCC patients were selected for 3-year disease-free survival analysis.
RESULTS: All angiomyolipoma showed negative 18F-FDG but markedly increased 11C-acetate metabolism, significantly higher than RCC (11C-acetate SUVmax ratio = 4.11 ± 0.53 vs 2.00 ± 0.71; P < 0.05). 11C-acetate SUVmax ratio = 3.71 could differentiate angiomyolipoma including "fat-poor angiomyolipoma" (n = 10) from RCC with sensitivity of 93.8% (15/16) and specificity of 98.0% (49/50). Different RCC subtypes/grades (25 low- and 11 high-grade clear cell [CC], 7 chromophobe, 4 papillary, and 1 collecting duct) were found to have different dual-tracer metabolic pattern (P < 0.05), with overall RCC detection sensitivity of 90% (45/50). All chromophobe RCC were avid only for C-acetate but not 18F-FDG, whereas papillary RCC were primarily the opposite. RCC-CC showed variable dual-tracer uptake: high-grade more avid for F-FDG, low-grade more for 11C-acetate. Four RCC cases negative by dual-tracers were of low-grade RCC-CC. "Primary RCC being 18F-FDG-avid" was the only independent predictor of RCC recurrence in 3 years (P < 0.05), with a median disease-free survival of 22 months.
CONCLUSION: 11C-acetate PET/CT helps in differentiating "fat-poor angiomyolipoma" from RCC. Dual-tracer PET/CT has value in diagnosis of RCC subtypes and predicting survival.
Written by:
Ho CL, Chen S, Ho KM, Chan WK, Leung YL, Cheng KC, Wong KN, Cheung MK, Wong KK. Are you the author?
Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Hong Kong, China.
Reference: Clin Nucl Med. 2012 Nov;37(11):1075-82.
doi: 10.1097/RLU.0b013e318266cde2
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22996247
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