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Combined 18F/18F FDG PET/CT scan shows potential for use in cancer detection
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Performing combined 18F and 18F FDG PET/CT scans may be a viable method for cancer detection while also decreasing radiation doses and possibly health care costs, according to data presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 58th Annual Meeting.
In the small prospective trial, researchers enrolled 78 patients with proven cancers and examined the combined administration of 18F and 18F FDG in a single PET/CT scan. All patients underwent an 18F PET/CT, an 18F FDG PET/CT and a combined 18F FDG PET/CT. The scans were performed within 2- to 4-week intervals.
The combined scan method performed well, missing only two skull lesions that were seen on the 18F PET scan. This combined method allowed accurate interpretation of the uptake of soft tissues, as well as showing extensive skeletal disease.
“During a time when health care costs are under intense scrutiny, consolidated procedures such as this one that provide comprehensive imaging data are a benefit to everyone — to clinicians, health care administrators and especially patients who would need only one scan instead of two,” Andrei Iagaru, MD, researcher on the study and assistant professor of radiology and nuclear medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, Calif, said in a press release.
“What we stand to gain from combining these two agents is the diversification of tumor targeting. The beauty of it is that each agent has its own strength, and those are unified in the imaging. In combination, they represent a powerful new tool for acquiring as much information as possible about the extent of a patient’s cancer.”
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18F FDG PET-CT imaging has become the standard in staging and response monitoring of many malignancies. However, the utility in detecting bony disease by 18F FDG PET-CT for staging as well as for treatment response monitoring is less reliable than for soft tissue involvement. This interesting study combining both tracers (18F NaF and 18F FDG) appears to improve the sensitivity and specificity of detecting osseous lesions compared to 18-F FDG alone and may reduce the cost of performing the two separate imagings independently.
– Percy Lee, MD
Assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Specialist in radiation oncology at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Disclosure: Dr. Lee reported no relevant financial disclosures.