ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the uptake of four contrast agents: (99)Tc(m)-RGD-4CK, (99)Tc(m)-N(NOET)(2), (99)Tc(m)-MIBI and (18)F-FDG in Bal B/c nude mice bearing human non-small cell lung cancer NCI-H358 and evaluate their diagnostic value in low-metabolic lung cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Human bronchioloalveolar carcinoma NCI-H358 cells were subcutaneously inoculated in Bal B/c nude mice to establish mouse models bearing human lung cancer. Twenty tumor-bearing nude mice were given injection of the four contrast agent, respectively, 5 mice in each group. SPECT imaging and biodistribution of the 4 tracers in the tumor-bearing nude mice were performed. The ratios of tumor to non-tumor (T/NT) of the tracers were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results from semi-quantification of the planar image and assessment of biodistribution showed that tumor to contralateral muscle activity ratios (T/NT) of the four tracers had statistically significant difference between each two of the four tracer groups of tumor-bearing mice (P < 0.001), with a highest value of T/NT ratio in the (99)Tc(m)-RGD-4CK group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>NCI-H358 tumors show a higher uptake of (99)Tc(m)-RGD-4CK than (18)F-FDG. It suggests that when diagnosing a well-differentiated lung cancer such as bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, the contrast agent (99)Tc(m)-RGD-4CK may be more sensitive than (18)F-FDG, and it may become a promising contrast agent in tumor imaging diagnosis.</p>