Abstract
Purpose: To investigate F-18-fluoro-ethyl-tyrosine positron emission tomography (FET-PET) imaging characteristics of adult brainstem glioma (BSG).
Materials and methods: FET-PET imaging and progression-free survival (PFS) of 16 adult patients with BSG was analyzed (9 high-grade gliomas, 7 low-grade gliomas). SUVmax, TBR, and time activity curves of FET-PET were calculated.
Results: Progressive gliomas had higher SUVmax (3.57 +/- 1.47 vs. 1.60 +/- 0.51; p = 0.003) and TBRmax (3.00 +/- 1.12 vs. 1.36 +/- 0.33; p = 0.001) than stable gliomas. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed longer PFS of tumors with TBRmax < 2.0 compared to tumors with TBRmax > 2.0 (665 +/- 32 days versus 220 +/- 39 days; p < 0.001).
Conclusion: FET-PET uptake might be associated with disease progression in adult BSG.