CONTINUING EDUCATION

Clinical Applications of PET in Brain Tumors*

Wei Chen

Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California; and
Department of Radiology, Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center, Woodland Hills, California

PET-guided biopsy. The article discusses the clinical course

Malignant gliomas and metastatic tumors are the most common and treatment of the tumors; clinical issues pertinent to
brain tumors. Neuroimaging plays a significant role clinically. In neuroimaging; the benefits and limitations of the current
low-grade tumors, neuroimaging is needed to evaluate recurrent gold standard, MRI; the role of the established PET tracer
disease and to monitor anaplastic transformation into high-grade 18F-FDG; and the potential of PET tracers alternative to
tumors. In high-grade and metastatic tumors, the imaging chal- 18F-FDG, such as amino acid tracers, with emphasis on 18F-
lenge is to distinguish between recurrent tumor and treatment-
induced changes such as radiation necrosis. The current clinical labeled amino acid tracers.
gold standard, MRI, provides superior structural detail but poor
specificity in identifying viable tumors in brain treated with sur- EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION OF GLIOMAS
gery, radiation, or chemotherapy. 18F-FDG PET identifies ana- According to the classification of the World Health Orga-
plastic transformation and has prognostic value. The sensitivity
nization (WHO), gliomas are of 3 main types—astrocytomas,
and specificity of 18F-FDG in evaluating recurrent tumor and
treatment-induced changes can be improved significantly by oligodendrogliomas, and mixed oligoastrocytomas—which
coregistration with MRI and potentially by delayed imaging 3–8 can usually be distinguished by their histologic features (2).
h after injection. Amino acid PET tracers are more sensitive These tumors are typically heterogeneous in that different
than 18F-FDG in imaging recurrent tumors and in particular recur- levels of malignant degeneration can occur in different re-
rent low-grade tumors. They are also promising in differentiating gions within the same tumor. Analysis of the most malig-
between recurrent tumors and treatment-induced changes. nant region of the tumors establishes grading: low-grade, or
Key Words: neurology; oncology; PET; brain; tumors WHO grades I and II, and high-grade, or WHO grades III
J Nucl Med 2007; 48:1468–1481 and IV. Grading is based on the degree of nuclear atypia,
DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.106.037689 mitosis, microvascular proliferation, and necrosis, with
increasing anaplasia as tumor grade increases. The histo-
logic features of the tumor and the age and performance

M alignant brain tumors are a heterogeneous group of

diseases, each with its own biology, prognosis, and treat-
status of the patient are major prognostic factors on out-
come (3). There are 3 subtypes of low-grade gliomas:
pilocytic astrocytoma (grade I), astrocytoma (grade II), and
ment. The most common tumor types are metastatic tumors oligodendroglioma (grade II). High-grade gliomas include
and malignant gliomas. The American Cancer Society anaplastic tumors (astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma,
estimated that, in 2005, primary brain tumors were the grade III) and glioblastoma (grade IV). Glioblastoma is
cause of death of approximately 12,760 people. Metastatic the most malignant and most common glioma, accounting
tumors are more common; more than 100,000 people die for 45%–50% of all gliomas (4). The mean age at onset is
per year with symptomatic intracranial metastases (1). The 61 y for glioblastoma and 40 y for anaplastic astrocytoma
initial presentation and diagnostic approaches are similar, (5). Men are more frequently affected than women, with a
but the natural courses of disease are different. This article sex ratio of 3:2. Low-grade tumors typically affect younger
focuses on PET with 18F-FDG and 18F-labeled amino acid patients than do high-grade gliomas (fourth versus sixth
tracers in malignant gliomas and metastatic tumors, with a decade of life).
special focus on radiation necrosis, tumor recurrence, and
TREATMENT AND OUTCOME
Received Jan. 31, 2007; revision accepted Apr. 19, 2007. High-Grade Gliomas
For correspondence or reprints contact: Wei Chen, MD, PhD, CHS, AR-144,
David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
The clinical course of glioblastoma is usually rapid and
E-mail: weichen@mednet.ucla.edu fatal, with a median survival of 1 y. Median survival for
Guest Editor: H. William Strauss, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
*NOTE: FOR CE CREDIT, YOU CAN ACCESS THIS ACTIVITY THROUGH
anaplastic tumors is 2–3 y.
THE SNM WEB SITE (http://www.snm.org/ce_online) THROUGH SEPTEMBER The treatment for anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblas-
2008.
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
toma is similar. The current standard of care for newly di-
COPYRIGHT ª 2007 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc. agnosed glioblastoma is surgical resection to the extent

1468 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

feasible, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. Maximum re- Optimal treatment of low-grade gliomas is controversial.
section is important to quickly relieve symptoms and to Surgery has long been important in their diagnosis and
establish a diagnosis and is associated with lengthened sur- treatment. Surgical resection of the full extent of the tumor
vival and improved neurologic function (6–8). Postopera- is important in establishing an accurate diagnosis, because
tive radiation has provided a significant survival advantage many tumors are heterogeneous. Recently, in 38% of 81
over surgery alone (9,10). Long-term survival is less than patients, a discrepancy was shown between the diagnosis
5% after surgical resection and radiation or chemotherapy made from small biopsy samples and the diagnosis made
(11). Conventional chemotherapy typically has yielded a from resected specimens (22). Evidence exists that a radical
response rate of 5%–10% (12). Concurrent radiation with resection may improve symptom control, particularly with
the chemotherapy agent temozolomide has recently been regard to seizures (23). However, the impact of the timing
shown to improve survival in patients with newly diagnosed and extent of surgery on patient outcome remains the
glioblastoma, with a 2-y survival rate of 26.5% with radio- subject of much debate (18). Earlier surgery does not seem
therapy plus temozolomide and 10.4% with radiotherapy to prevent or delay anaplastic transformation, and the effect
alone (13,14). of surgery on overall survival and progression-free survival
After the initial treatment, these tumors invariably recur. is uncertain. Although radiotherapy has played an impor-
Patients are treated with a variety of chemotherapeutic tant part in the management of low-grade glioma, the effi-
agents, and this treatment is an active area of investigation. cacy and timing of this treatment have also been debated. A
Patients are followed clinically for neurologic symptoms recent study of 311 patients demonstrated that radiation af-
and through neuroimaging with MRI, the current clinical ter the initial resection may improve progression-free sur-
gold standard. A rapidly enlarging, enhancing lesion on vival but had no effect on overall survival (24).
MRI with or without clinical symptoms usually establishes Astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas are radiographi-
a diagnosis of progressing tumor. However, difficulty with cally indistinguishable, although oligodendrogliomas are
distinguishing between tumor extent and treatment-induced more likely to be calcified. Recognition of oligodendrogli-
changes such as radiation necrosis limits imaging of the omas is important in that oligodendroglioma and, to a lesser
extent of contrast enhancement in malignant gliomas (15). extent, mixed oligoastrocytoma carry a better prognosis
Difficulty also exists in evaluating treatment response with and greater responsiveness to chemotherapy than does pure
MRI, in that reliable prognostic information often cannot astrocytoma (25,26). Oligodendroglial tumors have a more
be obtained until many weeks after treatment starts (16). distinct genetic profile than do astrocytomas. Somatic
deletions of chromosomes 1p and 19q are the most import
events in tumorigenesis, occurring in about 40%–70% of
Low-Grade Gliomas tumors (27). In general, this deletion of 1p and 19q renders
Although both grade I and grade II gliomas are classified tumors more responsive to chemotherapy. The 5-y survival
as low-grade tumors, they are diverse clinically. Grade I of patients with astrocytomas is around 37%, whereas 70%
tumors such as pilocytic astrocytomas are well-circum- of patients with oligodendrogliomas are alive 5 y after
scribed contrast-enhancing tumors. They develop mainly in diagnosis (28).
children and young adults. As a rule, pilocytic astrocytomas The general consensus is that early intervention is pref-
grow slowly and stabilize spontaneously. Malignant trans- erable in low-grade gliomas when increasing symptoms or
formation rarely occurs. Surgical resection alone leads to radiographic progression is observed, because changes are
cure or long-term survival in most cases, with 80% of frequently associated with dedifferentiation to a higher-
patients reaching a 20-y survival. Radiotherapy and possi- grade tumor (18). Early and adequate tissue sampling is
bly chemotherapy are reserved only for unresectable tu- important given the potential for nonenhancing tumors to
mors in patients with progressive deficits (17). This article be anaplastic gliomas rather than low-grade gliomas. Max-
focuses on grade II tumors. imal resection is an option in patients whose tumors can be
Low-grade gliomas are more indolent than their high- resected. For younger patients who undergo a complete re-
grade counterparts but are associated with significant neu- section, periodic observation with MRI for clinical or
rologic disability and are fatal. Reference to these lesions as radiographic signs of tumor recurrence is a viable option.
benign gliomas has generally been abandoned (18). Histo- Radiotherapy is recommended for older patients, especially
logic features of anaplasia, including microscopic endothe- if total resection is not possible. Chemotherapy is also an
lial proliferation and necrosis, are absent. Mitotic activity is option, particularly for patients whose tumors harbor 1p/
low. The proliferation index, assessed by MIB-1 antibody 19q deletion.
targeting the Ki-67 antigen expressed only in proliferative
stages of the cell cycle, is generally low at 2%–4% (19). Intracranial Metastasis
Tumor cells acquire genetic defects that result in anaplastic Cerebral metastases remain a common complication
transformation to a high-grade lesion. At the time of tumor among patients with systemic cancer. The tumor types
progression, 50%–70% lesions are of high grade (20,21). most likely to metastasize to the brain are lung, breast, and
They may also progress without anaplastic transformation. melanoma (29). Median survival for cerebral metastases

PET IN BRAIN TUMORS • Chen 1469

remains less than 1 y, with most patients dying from sys- prevalence of necrosis. Second, dexamethasone has been
temic disease. Traditionally, these patients were treated with shown to reduce tumor size, as seen on MRI (33). Many
whole-brain irradiation, because many have multiple le- glioma patients are under treatment with corticosteroids,
sions. Surgery allows pathologic verification when diagno- and withholding this drug for the purpose of an imaging
sis is uncertain. Surgery is indicated in patients with a study would ethically not be feasible. Last, it is challenging
relatively good performance status and in patients with with MRI to evaluate recurrent low-grade tumors without
large, solitary lesions associated with a significant mass ef- anaplastic transformation, because changes on MRI can often
fect. In patients who had solitary metastases and were ran- be difficult to distinguish from treatment-induced changes.
domized to whole-brain irradiation with or without surgical 18F-FDG PET
resection, surgery with whole-brain irradiation showed a
Imaging of brain tumors with 18F-FDG was the first onco-
survival advantage (30,31). Recently, stereotactic radiosur-
logic application of PET (34–36). 18F-FDG is actively trans-
gery has emerged as an alternative to whole-brain irradia-
ported across the BBB into the cell, where it is phosphorylated.
tion and surgery, especially in surgically inaccessible lesions. 18F-FDG uptake is generally high in high-grade tumors. The
Stereotactic radiosurgery allows the precise delivery of a
prognostic value of 18F-FDG uptake is well established: High
high dose of radiation to a defined target in a single treat-
uptake in a previously known low-grade tumor establishes the
ment session. Patients previously treated with radiotherapy
diagnosis of anaplastic transformation (37,38).
can be retreated with stereotactic radiosurgery in the event
However, recent studies have demonstrated some diag-
of tumor progression. Stereotactic radiosurgery can also be
nostic limitations of 18F-FDG PET (39,40). Because of the
used to treat patients with multiple lesions. Comparative
high rate of physiologic glucose metabolism in normal
studies of surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery have not
brain tissue, the detectability of tumors with only modest
been performed (29). Stereotactic radiosurgery is well toler-
increases in glucose metabolism, such as low-grade tumors
ated, but necrosis is a complication that can occur several
and in some cases recurrent high-grade tumors, is difficult.
months later and may mimic tumor recurrence. Chemo- 18F-FDG uptake in low-grade tumors is usually similar to
therapy and targeted therapy are active areas of investiga-
that in normal white matter, and uptake in high-grade
tion for cerebral metastases.
tumors can be less than or similar to that in normal gray
matter, thus decreasing the sensitivity of lesion detection
IMAGING MODALITIES (Fig. 1). Further, the coupling of 18F-FDG uptake and
glucose metabolism in tumors can be radically different
Conventional Imaging Studies
from that in normal tissue. It was demonstrated that 18F-
The clinical gold standard, MRI, provides excellent ana-
FDG uptake in tumors could be increased whereas glucose
tomic details. Standard T1- and T2-weighted MRI is highly
metabolism could not (41). 18F-FDG uptake can vary
sensitive in determining the size and location of brain tu-
greatly; high-grade tumors may have uptake that is only
mors, as well as mass effect, edema, hemorrhage, necrosis,
similar to or slightly above that in white matter, especially
and signs of increased intracranial pressure. Most high-
after treatment (36).
grade tumors such as glioblastoma lead to destruction of the
Coregistration with MRI. Coregistration of 18F-FDG PET
blood–brain barrier (BBB), with subsequent leakage of con-
images with MR images greatly improves the performance
trast medium. Low-grade tumors usually show no or min-
of 18F-FDG PET, and it is critical to have the MR images
imal enhancement. A high-grade glioma normally presents
available while the 18F-FDG PET images are interpreted (42).
as an irregular hypodense lesion on T1-weighted MRI, with
Because recurring tumor may show 18F-FDG uptake equal to
various degrees of contrast enhancement and edema. Ring-
or lower than uptake in the normal cortex, reference to the
like enhancement surrounding irregularly shaped foci of
presumed necrosis is suggestive of glioblastoma. However,
anaplastic tumors can often present as nonenhancing tu-
mors, and even glioblastoma may present initially as a non-
enhancing lesion, especially in older patients. Likewise,
some tumors that appear to be of low grade may contain
areas of anaplastic tumor. In addition, the low specificity of
MRI in distinguishing neoplastic disease from vascular or
inflammatory processes can be a problem in some cases.
It is clinically challenging to evaluate disease status with
MRI in patients who have been treated. First, treatment-
induced changes such as radiation necrosis can be difficult
to distinguish from recurrent tumor (15,32). This issue is
becoming clinically more critical now that concurrent che-
moradiation and stereotactic radiosurgery are being used FIGURE 1. 18F-FDG PET of newly diagnosed tumors: glio-
more extensively, because both treatments increase the blastoma (A) and grade II oligodendroglioma (B).

1470 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

MR image delineates the area of interest. In the area of layed imaging might therefore improve the delineation of
interest, any 18F-FDG uptake higher than the expected tumor from normal gray matter. Nineteen patients with
background level in the adjacent brain should be considered gliomas were imaged form 0 to 90 min and once or twice
recurrent tumor if that uptake corresponds to abnormalities later at 180–480 min after injection. In 12 of 19 patients,
on MRI, even though the uptake may be equal to or less than visual analysis of delayed images up to 8 h after injection
that in normal cortex (Fig. 2). showed these images to better distinguish the high uptake
Delayed Imaging. Early studies reported enhanced de- in tumors from uptake in gray matter (Fig. 3). Standardized
tection of brain tumors with glucose loading, with a 27% uptake values (SUVs) were also greater in tumors than in
increase in the 18F-FDG uptake ratio of tumor to normal normal gray or white matter on delayed imaging. The
gray matter (43). However, glucose loading can be difficult authors used kinetic modeling to demonstrate that the rate
to perform clinically because of the need for intravenous constant of FDG-6-phosphate degradation k4 values was
glucose infusion and blood glucose monitoring. Recently, not significantly different between tumor and normal brain
an interesting study showed that 18F-FDG imaging 3–8 h tissue at early imaging times but was lower in tumor than in
after injection can improve the distinction between tumor normal brain tissue at delayed times, suggesting that higher
and normal gray matter (44). The authors hypothesized that FDG-6-phosphate degradation at delayed times may be
glucose excretion from the cells would be increased when responsible for higher excretion of 18F-FDG from normal
the interval between 18F-FDG administration and PET data tissue than from tumor.
acquisition was extended, that this excretion would be
greater in normal brain tissue than in tumor, and that de- Amino Acid PET Tracers
Amino acid PET tracers and amino acid analog PET
tracers constitute another class of tumor-imaging agents
(45,46). They are particularly attractive for imaging brain
tumors because of the high uptake in tumor tissue and low
uptake in normal brain tissue and, thus, higher tumor–to–
normal-tissue contrast. The best-studied amino acid tracer
is 11C-methionine (47). Because of the short half-life of 11C
(20 min), 18F-labeled aromatic amino acid analogs have
been developed for tumor imaging (48). Tumor uptake of
O-(2-18F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) and 3,4-dihydroxy-
6-18F-fluoro-L-phenylalanine (FDOPA) has been reported to
be similar to that of 11C-methionine (49,50). The 18F-
FDOPA metabolite 3-O-methyl-6-18F-fluoro-L-DOPA has
also been investigated for brain tumor imaging with PET
(51). The diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDOPA was recently
reported to be superior to that of 18F-FDG in evaluating
recurrent low-grade and high-grade gliomas (52).
Amino acids are transported into the cell via carrier-
mediated processes (53). Amino acid imaging is based on
the observation that amino acid transport is generally in-
creased in malignant transformation (54,55). In animal
models, upregulation of the amino acid transporter in the
supporting vasculature of brain tumor tissue has been
shown responsible for increased facilitation of amino acid
transport into the tumor cell (56). Factors involved in this
active transport have been reviewed: flux of the amino acid
FIGURE 2. Image coregistration of 18F-FDG PET and MRI. (A) to the tissue, the intrinsic activity of the amino acid trans-
A 45-y-old woman with radiation necrosis. MRI showed a new porter, and the rate of intracellular amino acid metabolism
contrast-enhancing lesion 4 mo after stereotactic radiosurgery (48). Amino acid transport is generally accepted to be the
for metastatic breast cancer. 18F-FDG PET showed mild uptake
not higher than background level of adjacent brain tissue. rate-limiting step, even for the few amino acid tracers that
Radiation necrosis was diagnosed, and MRI lesion regressed are incorporated into the proteins. The relationship between
during follow-up. (B) A 54-y-old man with recurrent glioblas- proliferative activity and amino acid transport was investi-
toma. MRI showed a new contrast-enhancing lesion. 18F-FDG gated in 3 glioma cell lines (57). The authors elegantly
PET showed moderate uptake lower than that of normal gray demonstrated, using nonmetabolized amino acid, that in-
matter but higher than expected background level of adjacent
brain tissue and corresponding to abnormal contrast-enhancing creased amino acid transport in tumor cells involves all
region on MRI. Surgery demonstrated recurrent glioblastoma phases of the cell cycle and that upregulation of amino acid
with Ki-67 of 40%. transport (L and A systems) occurs in the absence of

PET IN BRAIN TUMORS • Chen 1471

FIGURE 3. A 45-y-old woman with re-
current right temporal glioblastoma. MRI
shows contrast enhancement. Tumor–to–
gray matter delineation is more prominent
later, at 473 min, than at 90 min. (Adapted
from (44).)

increased vascular permeability. Thus, amino acid transport swelling and occurs hours to weeks after the completion of
is increased in tumor cells regardless of the phase of the cell radiation. This type of injury usually is reversible and has a
cycle, and this upregulation of transport does not depend on good prognosis. Early delayed injury involves demyelina-
breakdown of the BBB. An earlier study showed that amino tion, occurs weeks to months after the completion of radia-
acid transport into brain tumors does not depend on, but tion, and also is reversible. Late injury involves liquefactive
may be enhanced by, a breakdown in the BBB (58). Uptake or coagulative necrosis and usually is irreversible. Late
of 11C-methionine was significant in low-grade astrocytoma injury can occur months to years after the completion of
but not as high as in glioblastoma. However, 11C-methio- radiation. The pattern of radiation injury may vary from
nine uptake was even higher in meningioma (lack of BBB) diffuse periventricular white matter lesions to focal or multi-
than in glioblastoma. In contrast, 18F-FDG uptake is higher focal lesions. Radiation injury may also occur distant from
in glioblastoma than in meningioma. Therefore, transport the original treatment (61). Radiation necrosis is difficult to
across the BBB is not the rate-limiting step for 18F-FDG, differentiate from tumor growth on MRI and is especially
whereas transport across the BBB does appear to be the rate- challenging in early delayed and late injuries because recur-
limiting step for amino acid tracers such as 11C-methionine. ring tumor can occur along the same time lines.
Transport of the 18F-amino acid analog 3-O-methyl-6-18F- 18F-FDG PET. Early studies reported that 18F-FDG PET

fluoro-L-DOPA via sodium-independent, high-capacity amino had a sensitivity of 81%–86% and a specificity of 40%–
acid transport systems has been demonstrated in tumor cell 94% for distinguishing between radiation necrosis and
lines (59). tumor (62). In general, methods to define a cutoff SUV
were not reliable, because the relative use of glucose and
EVALUATION OF DISEASE STATUS 18F-FDG varied widely for brain tumors and was different

Radiation Necrosis from that for normal brain (41,63). Attempts to use the ratio
The actual incidence of radiation necrosis is not known of lesion to contralateral normal white matter or gray
because few studies have been performed on patients matter yielded poor results (40), although this finding was
treated with radiation only, and chemotherapy is known a subject of controversy because another group achieved
to increase the risk of radiation necrosis when both modal- good results using receiver-operating-characteristic analy-
ities are used (60). Now that stereotactic radiosurgery is sis (64). This difficulty with using the ratio approach to
used more extensively, and now that it has become standard diagnose recurrent tumor was due to the fact that an area of
practice to combine chemotherapy with radiation for high- treated brain has a wide range of background metabolic
grade gliomas, the incidence of radiation necrosis is likely activity and usually is of lower metabolic activity than nor-
to increase. The types of radiation injuries have been mal untreated brain. Recurring tumors can have a similarly
reviewed previously (Table 1). Acute injury involves tumor varied degree of metabolic activity that also can frequently

TABLE 1
Characteristics of Radiation Injuries

Type of injury Interval after irradiation Pathologic findings Prognosis

Acute Hours to weeks Tumor swelling Good (reversible)

Edema of surrounding brain
Early delayed Weeks to months Demyelination Good (spontaneously reversible)
Late Months to years Liquefactive or coagulative necrosis Usually irreversible
Clinical severity variable

Adapted with permission from (60).

1472 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

be lower than that of normal brain. Diagnostic performance in radiation necrosis, but 18F-FET uptake was absent from
appears better in gliomas than in metastatic lesions and is macrophages. Moreover, the ratio of 18F-FET uptake in
worse in lesions treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (60). radiation necrosis to that in normal cortex was much lower
Thus, when one is interpreting 18F-FDG PET images of a than the corresponding ratios for 18F-FDG and 18F-choline,
treated brain to distinguish recurrent tumor from radiation suggesting that 18F-FET is promising for differentiating ra-
necrosis, it is critical to evaluate lesion activity not by the diation necrosis from tumor recurrence. Absence of 18F-
absolute uptake value, and not by the ratio to untreated FET uptake in a case of radiation necrosis has been reported
normal brain tissue, but by whether lesion activity is above (49). In a recently reported study with 18F-FDOPA, a lesion–
the expected background activity in adjacent brain tissue. It is to–normal-brain ratio of less than 1.6 and a lesion-to-striatum
also critical to have the MRI structural information available ratio of less than 1.0 were demonstrated in 4 cases of ra-
for correlation. In a series of 44 lesions treated with stereo- diation necrosis (from treatment of metastatic lung cancer,
tactic radiosurgery, 18F-FDG PET alone had a sensitivity of metastatic melanoma, glioblastoma, and grade III astrocy-
65% in subjects with metastases but reached 86% when MRI toma) (52). Although these results appear promising, larger
and PET images were coregistered (65). Any area of 18F-FDG systematic studies are needed to evaluate the accuracies of
uptake higher than the expected background activity in adja- these amino acid tracers in differentiating radiation necrosis
cent brain tissue was considered suggestive, as was any area of from recurrent tumor.
18F-FDG uptake in a region showing contrast enhancement on

coregistered MR images (Fig. 2). A series of 117 postradio- Evaluation of Recurrent Tumors
therapy patients demonstrated a sensitivity of 96% and spec- 18F-FDG PET. High 18F-FDG uptake in a previously
ificity of 77% in distinguishing recurrent tumor from radiation diagnosed low-grade glioma with low 18F-FDG uptake is
necrosis when such criteria were used (66). diagnostic of anaplastic transformation (Fig. 4). This increase
Much of the wide range of 18F-FDG PET performance in in 18F-FDG uptake is strongly prognostic. Twenty-eight pa-
evaluating radiation necrosis may be attributable to differences tients with low-grade glioma were studied with 18F-FDG
in the timing of PETafter radiation, in the type of radiation, and PET and followed for a mean of 27 mo (38). All 19 patients
in the type of tumor. 18F-FDG uptake was shown to vary with with tumors that were hypometabolic on PET were alive at
the timing after radiation treatment, and overlap of 18F-FDG the end of the follow-up period, whereas 6 of 9 patients
uptake between radiation necrosis and residual tumor could with hypermetabolic patterns on PET had died.
be considerable (67). The optimal time for performing 18F- 18F-FDG PET performs generally well in identifying grow-

FDG PET after radiation is not known (67). The general ing high-grade gliomas. In lesions that are equivocal on MRI,
recommendation is that, for the purpose of evaluating tumor 18F-FDG PET may have limited sensitivity (52). 18F-FDG

growth, 18F-FDG PET should not be performed less than 6 wk PET is generally not sensitive in identifying recurrent low-
after the completion of radiation treatment. grade tumors without anaplastic transformation (Fig. 4).
A potentially useful approach would be to use delayed Amino Acid Tracers. In contrast to 18F-FDG uptake,
imaging, because it apparently enhances the tumor–to– amino acid uptake has been shown to be increased relative
normal-brain uptake ratio (44). An attractive hypothesis is to normal brain tissue in most low- and high-grade tumors,
that, like normal brain tissue, necrotic tissue would show and radiolabeled amino acids might therefore be preferable
greater 18F-FDG excretion at delayed times than would for evaluating recurrent tumors (47). Initial research focused
tumor. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether this on 11C-labeled amino acids, particularly 11C-methionine (40).
approach can increase diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing However, because of the short half-life of 11C, the applicability
radiation necrosis from recurrent tumor. of this tracer is limited to facilities with on-site cyclotrons,
Other PET Tracers. Because amino acid tracers appear and the demand for 18F-labeled analogs has been increasing.
more sensitive than 18F-FDG PET in visualizing tumor, they The usefulness of 11C-methionine PET in 45 brain lesions
also have potentially better diagnostic performance than 18F- that did not show increased uptake on 18F-FDG PET was
FDG PET in evaluating radiation necrosis. However, the evaluated (70). Thirty-four of these lesions were at the initial
degree of amino acid uptake in radiation necrosis lesions is presentation, and 11 were being evaluated for recurrence.
not well known. 11C-Methionine has been available for 2 de- There were 24 gliomas, 5 metastatic tumors, 4 meningiomas,
cades, but few studies have been published on its performance 2 other brain tumors, and 10 benign lesions. 11C-Methionine
in differentiating radiation necrosis from brain tumor recur- demonstrated increased uptake in 31 of 35 tumors (89%
rence (60). In a study of 21 patients with brain metastases sensitivity). For 24 gliomas, 11C-methionine demonstrated
treated by stereotactic radiosurgery, 11C-methionine correctly positive uptake in 22 (92% sensitivity). All 10 benign brain
identified 7 of 9 recurrences and 10 of 12 radiation injuries (68). lesions (cysticercosis, radiation necrosis, tuberculous granu-
In rats, uptake of 18F-FET, 18F-FDG, and 18F-choline has loma, hemangioma, organized infarction, and benign cyst)
been compared in acute lesions caused by cerebral radiation showed normal or decreased 11C-methionine uptake (100%
injury (inflammatory cells) and in acute cryolesions (dis- specificity). 11C-Methionine was false-negative in cases of
ruption of BBB) (69). Both 18F-FDG and 18F-choline accu- intermediate oligodendroglioma, metastatic tumor, chordoma,
mulated in macrophages, a common inflammatory mediator and cystic ganglioma.

PET IN BRAIN TUMORS • Chen 1473

 Thus, 18F-FET was able to distinguish between recurrent tu-
mor and therapy-induced benign changes with 100% ac-
curacy. In this study, focal and high 18F-FET uptake was
considered suggestive of tumor recurrence, whereas low
and homogeneous uptake around the resection cavity was
considered a benign posttreatment change (Fig. 5). As-
suming that the expression of amino acid transporters is
upregulated in tumor tissue but not in tissues affected by
posttreatment changes, one can attribute increased amino
acid uptake into this tissue mainly to treatment-induced
disruption of the blood–brain barrier. The best differentia-
tion between benign posttreatment changes and recurrent
tumor was found at a threshold of 2.0 for the ratio of
maximum SUV to background or a threshold of 2.2 for the
absolute maximum SUV. Using the maximum SUV or an
80% isocontour yielded similar results. The diagnostic
accuracy of 18F-FET PET and MRI was compared in 45
patients with 34 high-grade and 11 low-grade gliomas (72).
18F-FET PET and MRI produced a correct diagnosis in 44

and 36 patients, respectively. When a threshold of 2.2 was

used for the maximum SUV, the specificity of 18F-FET PET
was 92.9% and the sensitivity was 100%. The sensitivity of
MRI was 93.5% and the specificity was 50%. 18F-FET PET
was concordant with MRI in 37 patients and discordant in 8
patients. The authors cautioned that the high sensitivity and
specificity of 18F-FET PET may be due to the fact that tumor
recurrence was suspected in all patients on the basis of the
MRI findings. The authors also suggested that because MRI
has high sensitivity but poor specificity, it should be used first,
as a screening test. In the event of suspected tumor re-
currence, additional 18F-FET PET investigation seems to
differentiate between posttreatment changes and tumor re-
currence and to avoid both under- and overtreatment.
In general, 18F-FET PET has not been shown useful in
differentiating low- from high-grade tumors, although some
investigators reported that the kinetic profile in 18F-FET
FIGURE 4. MRI and 18F-FDG PET of recurrent tumors. (A) uptake for low- and high-grade tumors might be a useful
Anaplastic transformation in previously resected and irradiated feature for distinguishing the 2 types of tumors (73).
grade II astrocytoma. Intense 18F-FDG uptake corresponds to For many years, 18F-FDOPA imaging of the integrity of
new contrast-enhancing lesion on MRI. (B) Recurrent grade II
the striatal dopamine pathway has been used to evaluate
oligodendroglioma. No increased 18F-FDG uptake is seen. (C)
Patient with previously resected and irradiated right frontal patients with movement disorders (74–76). However, 18F-
grade II astrocytoma. New contrast-enhancing lesion in left fron- FDOPA is also an amino acid analog and was shown to be
tal lobe corresponds to minimally increased 18F-FDG uptake. taken up at the BBB in normal brain by the neutral amino
This lesion was resected, and grade IV tumor was found. acid transporter (77,78). The initial report of 18F-FDOPA
imaging of a glioma was as an incidental finding in a pa-
An initial study demonstrated that uptake of 18F-FET in tient undergoing evaluation of movement disorders (79).
brain tumors is similar to that of 11C-methionine (49). The Subsequently, 18F-FDOPA PET and 11C-methionine PET of
diagnostic value of 18F-FET PET was evaluated in 53 brain tumors were compared in 19 patients (50). No sig-
patients with clinically suspected recurrent glioma (71). All nificant difference in uptake between 18F-FDOPA and 11C-
patients had gliomas and initially underwent surgery and methionine was found in either low- or high-grade tumors.
various additional treatments. Forty-three patients initially The most detailed and comprehensive study of 18F-
had high-grade gliomas and 10 patients had low-grade FDOPA in brain tumors was published last year. 18F-FDOPA
gliomas. All 42 patients with confirmed recurrent tumors was compared with 18F-FDG in 30 patients with brain
had focally increased 18F-FET uptake, whereas only low, tumors, and the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDOPA was
homogeneous 18F-FET uptake was seen at the margins of evaluated in a subsequent expansion of the study to an
the resection cavity in the 11 patients without recurrence. additional 51 patients (52). Initially, 30 patients with

1474 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

 FIGURE 5. MRI, 18F-FET PET, and fused
images. (A) A 30-y-old man who had
undergone initial surgery, radiation ther-
apy, and intralesional radioimmunotherapy
for anaplastic astrocytoma. Biopsy-
proven recurrent tumor (WHO grade IV)
occurred 20 mo after initial diagnosis. MRI
shows no contrast enhancement and was
rated normal. PET shows focal 18F-FET
uptake. Maximal SUV is 3.0, with ratio of
4.0 to background. (B) A 42-y-old woman
who had undergone initial surgery and
radiation therapy for WHO II astrocytoma.
This patient was proven free of tumor by
biopsy 67 mo after initial diagnosis. MRI
shows suggestive contrast enhancement
at border of cavity, whereas only moderate
18F-FET uptake is present on PET. Maxi-

mal SUV is 1.7, with ratio of 1.75 to back-

ground. (Adapted from Figure 1 of (71)
with the kind permission of Springer
Science and Business Media.)

brain tumors, newly diagnosed or previously treated, were Time–activity curves demonstrated that the highest tracer
prospectively studied. The distribution of cases based on uptake in tumor and cerebellum generally occurred be-
the WHO histopathologic classification was as follows: 7 tween 10 and 30 min after injection. Tracer activity in the
patients had newly diagnosed glioma (3 grade II, 1 grade striatum did not peak until 50 min after injection. Thus,
III, and 3 grade IV), and 23 were previously treated with tumor uptake from 10 to 30 min after injection is near
surgical resection or radiation (original primary tumors: maximum and occurs sufficiently early to avoid peak up-
2 grade II, 3 grade III, and 15 grade IV; metastatic brain take in the striatum.
tumors: 1 breast, 1 lung, and 1 melanoma). All patients With the criterion that any tracer activity above the back-
were studied with 18F-FDOPA and 18F-FDG PET within ground level of adjacent brain be considered abnormal, 22
the same week. MRI studies of the brain were acquired in of 23 high- and low-grade tumors were visualized with 18F-
all patients within 1 wk before the PET scans. The FDOPA, with 1 false-negative finding occurring in a patient
accuracy of the imaging data was validated by histology with residual low-grade tumor (Fig. 6). All 3 patients with-
or subsequent clinical follow-up. out active disease (in long-term remission) lacked visible

FIGURE 6. MRI, 18F-FDG PET, and 18F-

FDOPA PET of newly diagnosed tumors:
glioblastoma (A) and grade II oligoden-
droglioma (B). (Reprinted from (52).)

PET IN BRAIN TUMORS • Chen 1475

uptake on 18F-FDOPA PET scans. Four patients with Therefore, receiver-operating-characteristic analysis was used
radiation necrosis had low but visible 18F-FDOPA uptake. to identify the 18F-FDOPA uptake ratio for tumor to normal
Thus, 18F-FDOPA had a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity tissue that would give the best sensitivity and specificity:
of 43%, with an overall accuracy of 83% (95% confidence tumor to normal contralateral hemisphere (T/N), tumor to
interval, 70%–97%). The corresponding positive predictive striatum (T/S), or tumor to white matter (T/W). The spec-
value was 85%, and the negative predictive value was 75%. ificity of 18F-FDOPA brain tumor imaging could be greatly
With the same visual criterion, 14 of 23 tumors were visu- increased by using a T/S threshold of 0.75 or 1.0, a T/N
alized using 18F-FDG PET (sensitivity, 61%). Similar to threshold of 1.3, or a T/W threshold of 1.6.
18F-FDOPA, 18F-FDG showed no visible uptake in 3 stable 18F-FDOPA PET was subsequently expanded to a larger

patients in long-term remission and showed a low level of population of 51 patients to test these thresholds generated
uptake in 4 patients with radiation necrosis (specificity, 43%). from receiver-operating-characteristic analysis of the first
Thus, 18F-FDOPA was more sensitive overall than 18F-FDG 30 patients studied (Table 2). Three patients had newly diag-
in identifying tumors. 18F-FDOPA PET in gliomas demon- nosed gliomas (2 grade II and 1 grade III), and 47 patients
strated lower SUVs than did 18F-FDG. However, the con- were evaluated for recurrence (original primary tumors: 13
trast between tumor and normal tissue was higher than that grade II, 13 grade III, and 21 grade IV). One newly identified
with 18F-FDG because of the low 18F-FDOPA uptake in lesion was subsequently found to be benign reactive changes.
normal brain tissue. This higher contrast proved useful in Thresholds of 0.75 or 1.0 for T/S, 1.3 for T/N, and 1.6 for
detecting low-grade and recurrent tumors. For example, 8 T/W were used to test the sensitivity, specificity, positive
of 9 recurrent tumors were negative for uptake on 18F-FDG predictive value, and negative predictive value (Table 3).
PET but positive on 18F-FDOPA PET (Fig. 7). Of these 9 Although a T/S ratio of 0.75 resulted in a slightly higher
patients, 5 had low-grade and 4 had high-grade tumor. If only accuracy of 95% and sensitivity of 98%, a ratio of 1.0
high-grade tumors were considered, 18F-FDG sensitivity provided slightly lower sensitivity, 92%, but higher spec-
would be 78% (14/18), rather than 61% (14/23), in detecting ificity, 95% (Table 3). The latter ratio is clinically more
recurrent tumors, compared with 96% for 18F-FDOPA (22/ practical because it does not require quantitative measure-
23). 18F-FDOPA may thus help to detect low-grade and ment, is visually more obvious, and is still highly accurate
recurrent tumors with greater sensitivity than 18F-FDG. (accuracy of 93%, with positive predictive value of 98%
Standard visual analysis of 18F-FDOPA PET seemed and negative predictive value of 80%). The authors sug-
adequate in that it provided a high sensitivity in identifying gested using a T/S of 1.0 for first-line assessment and a T/S
tumor. However, the specificity was low because all radi- of 0.75 in inconclusive cases. In addition, one could use a
ation necrosis lesions had low but visible tracer uptake. T/S of 1.0 when clinical suspicion of radiation necrosis is

FIGURE 7. Use of MRI, 18F-FDG PET,

and 18F-FDOPA PET in evaluating recur-
rent tumors: glioblastoma (A) and grade II
oligodendroglioma (B). (Reprinted from
(52).)

1476 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

 TABLE 2 TABLE 3
Clinical Characteristics of Groups 1 and 2 for 18F-FDOPA Diagnostic Accuracy with 18F-FDOPA PET Using Various
Study Tumor–to–Normal-Tissue Thresholds in Groups 1 and 2

Clinical Group 1 Group 2 Combining 2 Tumor–to–normal- Group 1 Group 2 Combining 2

disease status (n 5 30) (n 5 51) groups (n 5 81) tissue threshold (n 5 30) (n 5 51) groups (n 5 81)

Newly diagnosed patients T/S . 0.75

Grade II 3 2 5 Sensitivity 100 97 98
Grade III 1 1 2 Specificity 86 86 86
Grade IV 3 0 3 Accuracy 97 94 95
Nontumor 0 1 1 PPV 96 95 95
Clinically stable patients NPV 100 92 95
Grade II 2 6 8 T/S . 1.0
Grade III 1 7 8 Sensitivity 96 86 92
Grade IV 6 5 11 Specificity 100 93 95
Posttreatment patients Accuracy 97 88 93
Recurrent PPV 100 94 98
Grade II 1 4 5 NPV 88 75 80
Grade III 2 1 3 T/N . 1.3
Grade IV 5 15 20 Sensitivity 96 95 95
Posttreatment changes 3 8 11 Specificity 86 86 86
Long-term remission 3 1 4 Accuracy 93 94 93
PPV 96 95 95
NPV 86 92 86
Adapted from (52). Data are numbers of patients. T/W . 1.6
Sensitivity 96 92 93
Specificity 86 86 86
higher and a T/S of 0.75 when clinical suspicion of Accuracy 93 84 91
recurrent tumor is higher. PPV 96 87 95
Tumor grade did not significantly affect tracer uptake in NPV 86 75 82
81 lesions in 18F-FDOPA PET studies, a finding that is con-
sistent with most studies using amino acid tracers (51–53). PPV 5 positive predictive value; NPV 5 negative predictive
Likewise, no statistically significant difference in uptake lev- value.
els was seen between contrast-enhancing tumors and non- Adapted from (52). Data are percentages.
enhancing tumors, in agreement with the notion that similar
to tumor accumulation of other amino acid tracers, tumor tracers have shown higher sensitivity in imaging tumors
accumulation of 18F-FDOPA activity is most likely mediated that, with 18F-FDG, are either hypo- or isometabolic to nor-
through a specific transport system, rather than requiring mal cortex, combining 18F-FDG and an amino acid tracer
breakdown of the BBB (56). for guidance of biopsy has been investigated.
18F-FDOPA demonstrated excellent visualization of high-
The combination of 18F-FDG and 11C-methionine for
and low-grade tumors and was more sensitive and specific guidance of stereotactic biopsy was studied in 32 patients
than 18F-FDG for evaluating recurrent tumors. 18F-FDOPA with unresectable gliomas (81). The double-tracer approach
may prove particularly valuable for examining recurrent low- was proposed for these patients because they presented
grade gliomas because these tumors are difficult to evaluate with a tumor considered unresectable and located in the
by MRI and are usually not visible on 18F-FDG PET. The cortical or subcortical gray matter—hence, likely of lower
study also suggested that 18F-FDOPA might be valuable for sensitivity on 18F-FDG. PET images were coregistered with
distinguishing recurrent tumor from radiation necrosis, al- MRI and were analyzed to determine which tracer offered
though a larger series of radiation necrosis cases is needed the best information for target definition. All 32 patients
for confirmation. had histologically documented glioma: 10 glioblastomas, 12
anaplastic astrocytomas, and 10 low-grade gliomas. 18F-FDG
PET GUIDANCE OF DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY uptake was equal to or less than uptake in the surrounding gray
PET-Guided Biopsy matter in 18 patients, including 3 with glioblastoma, 6 with
Brain tumors are histologically heterogeneous. MRI- anaplastic astrocytoma, and 9 with low-grade glioma. 18F-
guided stereotactic biopsy does not always yield a valid FDG was used for target selection when its uptake was higher
diagnosis or tumor grading, because some regions of the in tumor than in gray matter (14 patients). 11C-Methionine
nonenhancing tumors may be high-grade. Accurate grading was used for target selection when 18F-FDG uptake was less
and diagnosis are especially important for directing the than or equal to uptake in gray matter (18 patients). Sixty-
therapeutic approach and providing the prognosis in pa- one of the 70 stereotactic trajectories were based on
tients with nonresectable tumors. 18F-FDG PET–guided bi- PET-defined targets and showed abnormal 11C-methionine
opsy has previously been reported (80). Because amino acid uptake. All 61 11C-methionine–positive trajectories yielded

PET IN BRAIN TUMORS • Chen 1477

a diagnosis of tumor. The remaining 9 trajectories were 11C- escalation. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that 18F-FDG
methionine–negative and nondiagnostic. The authors concluded PET uptake was the only parameter significant for predicting
from the study that because 11C-methionine provides a survival and time to tumor progression. However, in a
more sensitive signal, it is the tracer of choice for single- subsequent report of 40 patients, such radiation dose esca-
tracer PET-guided neurosurgical procedures on gliomas. lation based on 18F-FDG PET volume did not result in
The added value of 18F-FET PET was investigated in 31 improved survival or time to tumor progression, compared
patients with suspected gliomas (82). PET and MRI were with historical controls (85).
coregistered, and 52 neuronavigated tissue biopsies were PET (or SPECT)/CT or PET (or SPECT)/MRI fusion
taken from lesions with both an abnormal MRI signal and with 11C-methionine and 123I-a-methyl-tyrosine was stud-
increased 18F-FET uptake (match), as well as from areas ied in 44 patients with recurrent glioblastoma after surgery
with an abnormal MRI signal but normal 18F-FET uptake or and postoperative conventional radiotherapy (86). Fused
vice versa (mismatch). 18F-FET findings were negative in 3 imaging was used to delineate the volume in planning for
patients with an ischemic infarct and demyelinating dis- fractional stereotactic radiotherapy. This volume was com-
ease, and these 3 patients were excluded from the study. Of pared with the volume determined using CT or MRI alone.
the remaining 28 patients, tumor was diagnosed in 23 and A significant survival advantage was found: a 9-mo median
reactive changes were found in the other 5. The diagnostic survival in patients whose treatment volume was based on
performance of MRI alone was compared with that of MRI fused imaging, versus a 5-mo median survival in patients
combined with 18F-FET. MRI yielded a sensitivity of 96% whose treatment planning was based on CT or MRI alone.
for the detection of tumor tissue but a specificity of 53%. 11C-Methionine was also used with CT or MRI to delineate

Combined use of MRI and 18F-FET PET yielded a sensi- the target volume in patients with meningiomas (87).
tivity of 93% and a specificity of 94%. Thus, the authors Information from 11C-methionine was found useful for de-
concluded that combined use of MRI and 18F-FET PET termining gross tumor volume.
significantly improves the identification of tumor tissue.
The predictive value of 18F-FET PET and MRI spectros- OTHER PET TRACERS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
copy was compared in 50 patients with suspected diffused 18F-FLT PET
gliomas (83). Lesion-to-brain ratios greater than 1.6 for
18F-FET uptake were considered indicative of tumor. The The thymidine analog 39-deoxy-39-18F-fluorothymidine
(FLT) PET was developed as a noninvasive method to
results of MRI spectroscopy were considered positive when
evaluate tumor cell proliferation (88). Uptake of 18F-FLT
N-acetylaspartate was decreased in conjunction with an
correlates with thymidine kinase-1 activity, an enzyme
absolute increase of choline and an N-acetylaspartate–to–
expressed during the DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle
choline ratio of 0.7 or less. The diagnostic accuracy in
(89). Thymidine kinase-1 activity is high in proliferating
distinguishing neoplastic from nonneoplastic tissue could
cells and low in quiescent cells. Phosphorylation of 18F-
be increased from 68% with the use of MRI alone to 97%
FLT intracellularly by thymidine kinase-1 results in trap-
with the use of MRI in conjunction with 18F-FET PET and
ping of the negatively charged 18F-FLT monophosphate
MRI spectroscopy. Sensitivity and specificity for tumor
(90,91). Although 18F-FLT appears to have limited sensi-
detection were 100% and 81%, respectively, for MRI spec-
tivity, uptake of 18F-FLT by tumors correlates with Ki-67, a
troscopy and 80% and 88%, respectively, for 18F-FET PET.
common proliferation index used ex vivo, as demonstrated in
Histologic studies did not reveal tumor tissue in any lesions
several extracranial cancers (92–96). 18F-FLT uptake has
that were negative on 18F-FET PET and MRI spectroscopy.
also been investigated in brain tumors, and similar correla-
Tumor was diagnosed for 97% of the lesions that were
tions have been observed (97–102). Thus, 18F-FLT has the
positive with both methods.
potential to monitor treatment response and to serve as a
prognostic marker.
PET-Guided Treatment
Because PET activity reflects tumor metabolic activity, 18F-Fluoromisonidazole PET
using PET to guide treatment seems to be a logical 18F-Fluoromisonidazole is a nitroimidazole derivative
approach. Studies using PET to delineate tumor volumes that has been developed as a PET agent to image hypoxia
for radiation therapy have been reported. In a study of 27 (103). Metabolites of 18F-fluoromisonidazole are trapped
patients with glioblastoma, dose escalation using an 18F- exclusively in hypoxic cells (104). Hypoxia in tumors is a path-
FDG PET–defined volume was investigated (84). Patients ophysiologic consequence of structurally and functionally dis-
were treated initially with standard conformal fractionated turbed angiogenesis along with deterioration of the ability
radiotherapy with volumes defined by MRI. 18F-FDG PET of oxygen to diffuse through tissues. Hypoxia is associated
was performed after an initial dose of 45–50.4 Gy. Patients with tumor progression and resistance to radiotherapy (105).
with tumors positive for 18F-FDG PET uptake were treated Investigation of brain tumors with 18F-fluoromisonidazole
with an additional 20 Gy to a total dose of 79.4 Gy based on PET demonstrated a correlation with perfusion at 0–5 min
volume as defined by 18F-FDG uptake plus a 0.5-cm margin. after injection, whereas late images at 150–170 min after in-
18F-FDG PET defined unique volumes for radiation dose jection were independent of perfusion and BBB disruption

1478 THE JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE • Vol. 48 • No. 9 • September 2007

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