Objective : This study concernes the usefulness of $^{11}C-methyl-L-and$ D-methionine[Met]-positron emission tomography[PET] for glioma grading and detection of recurrence in gliomas, compared with fluorine-18, 2-fluoro-deoxyglucose[FDG]-PET. Methods ...
Objective : This study concernes the usefulness of $^{11}C-methyl-L-and$ D-methionine[Met]-positron emission tomography[PET] for glioma grading and detection of recurrence in gliomas, compared with fluorine-18, 2-fluoro-deoxyglucose[FDG]-PET. Methods : Eighty patients underwent Met-PET study for evaluation of glioma : 37 astrocytomas [WHO grade II, 3; III, 8; IV, 26]. 27 oligodendrogliomas [WHO grade II, 16; III, 11]. and 12 suspicious recurrent gliomas. All images were taken within 2 weeks before operation. For suspicious recurrent cases on magnetic resonance images, both FDG-PET and Met-PET were performed. Results : In astrocytoma, Mean maximum standard uptake value[SUV] of region of interest[ROI] was not different between WHO grades [p=0.108]. but ROI/normal contralateral tissue SUV [T/N] ratio was statistically different between WHO grades [p=0.002]. T/N ratio was more closely related to visual scale than maximum SUV of ROI [p<0.001 and p=0.107 respectively]. In oligodendroglioma, there was no statistical difference between WHO grades in view of maximum SUV and T/N ratio. For recurrent gliomas, sensitivity of FDG-PET and Met-PET was 25% and 100%, while specificity of FDG-PET and Met-PET were 100% and 80%, respectively. Conclusion : Met-PET might be an appropriate tool for tumor grading in astrocytoma and be more sensitive for detection of recurrence in gliomas than FDG-PET.