Preliminary Study of 11C-Choline PET/CT for T Staging of Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Comparison with 18F-FDG PET/CT

Authors:
  • QWQuan-Shi Wang
    Quan-Shi Wang
  • MWMing-Fang Wang
    Ming-Fang Wang
  • XZXiaokang Zhen
    Xiaokang Zhen
  • WZWen-Lan Zhou
    Wen-Lan Zhou
  • HLHong-Sheng Li
    Hong-Sheng Li
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Abstract
Evaluation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using (18)F-FDG PET/CT is limited by the intense physiologic uptake of (18)F-FDG in the brain. We attempted to improve detection of intracranial tumor invasion (including better delineation of invasion near the skull base) in locally advanced NPC using(11)C-choline PET/CT. Fifteen patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent locally advanced NPC were enrolled in the study. (18)F-FDG and (11)C-choline PET/CT was performed on all patients. PET/CT images obtained using the 2 tracers were compared using both maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and tumor-to-brain (T/B) ratios. All patients were followed up for more than 1 y. The sensitivity of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in detecting locally advanced NPC was 86.6%, compared with a 100% sensitivity for (11)C-choline PET/CT (t = 2.143, P = 0.483). The SUVmax of lesions detected was higher using (18)F-FDG than using (11)C-choline (12.81 ± 5.00 vs. 6.84 ± 2.76, t = 6.416, P < 0.001), but the T/B ratio was much higher for (11)C-choline than for (18)F-FDG (18.62 ± 7.95 vs. 1.38 ± 0.59, t = 8.801, P < 0.001). Compared with (18)F-FDG PET/CT, (11)C-choline PET/CT improved the delineation of intracranial invasion in 6 of 12 patients (χ(2) = 8.00, P = 0.014), skull base invasion in 4 of 14 patients, and orbital invasion in 3 of 3 patients. (11)C-choline can improve the quality of PET/CT in the T staging of NPC.

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