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Erschienen in:
18.11.2015 | Original Article
Diagnostic value of combining 11C-choline and 18F-FDG PET/CT in hepatocellular carcinoma
Erschienen in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Ausgabe 5/2016
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Purpose
In this prospective study, our goal was to emphasize the diagnostic value of combining 11C-choline and 18F-FDG PET/CT for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver disease.
Methods
Thirty-three consecutive patients were enrolled. All patients were suspected to have HCC based on CT and/or MRI imaging. A final diagnosis was obtained by histopathological examination or by imaging alone according to American Association for the Study of Liver Disease criteria. All patients underwent PET/CT with both tracers within a median of 5 days. All lesions showing higher tracer uptake than normal liver were considered positive for HCC. We examined how tracer uptake was related to biological (serum α-fetoprotein levels) and pathological (differentiation status, peritumoral capsule and vascular invasion) prognostic markers of HCC, as well as clinical observations at 6 months (recurrence and death).
Results
Twenty-eight HCC, four cholangiocarcinomas and one adenoma were diagnosed. In the HCC patients, the sensitivity of 11C-choline, 18F-FDG and combined 11C-choline and 18F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of HCC was 75 %, 36 % and 93 %, respectively. Serum α-fetoprotein levels >200 ng/ml were more frequent among patients with 18F-FDG-positive lesions than those with 18F-FDG-negative lesions (p < 0.05). Early recurrence (n=2) or early death (n=5) occurred more frequently in patients with 18F-FDG-positive lesions than in those with 18F-FDG-negative lesions (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
The combined use of 11C-choline and 18F-FDG PET/CT detected HCC with high sensitivity. This approach appears to be of potential prognostic value and may facilitate the selection of patients for surgical resection or liver transplantation.