ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To investigate 18F-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⯱â¯1.47 vs. 1.60⯱â¯0.51; pâ¯=â¯0.003) and TBRmax (3.00⯱â¯1.12 vs. 1.36⯱â¯0.33; pâ¯=â¯0.001) than stable gliomas. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed longer PFS of tumors with TBRmaxâ¯<â¯2.0 compared to tumors with TBRmaxâ¯>â¯2.0 (665⯱â¯32â¯days versus 220⯱â¯39â¯days; pâ¯<â¯0.001). CONCLUSION: FET-PET uptake might be associated with disease progression in adult BSG.
