Dual time point [18F]FLT-PET for differentiating proliferating tissues vs non-proliferating tissues

Abstract Purpose For differentiating tumor from inflammation and normal tissues, fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) dual time point PET could be helpful. Albeit [18F]FLT is more specific for tumors than [18F]FDG; we explored the role of dual time point [18F]FLT-PET for discriminating benign from malignant tissues. Methods Before any treatment, 85 womens with de novo unifocal breast cancer underwent three PET acquisitions at 33.94 ± 8.01 min (PET30), 61.45 ± 8.30 min (PET60), and 81.06 ± 12.12 min (PET80) after [18F]FLT injection. Semiquantitative analyses of [18F]FLT uptake (SUV) were carried out on tumors, liver, bone marrow (4th thoracic vertebra (T4) and humeral head), descending thoracic aorta, muscle (deltoid), and contralateral normal breast. Repeated measures ANOVA tests and Tukey’s posttests were used to compare SUVmax of each site at the three time points. Results There was a significant increase in SUVmax over time for breast lesions (5.58 ± 3.80; 5.97 ± 4.56; 6.19 ± 4.42; p < 0.0001) (m ± SD for PET30, PET60, and PET80, respectively), and bone marrow (for T4, 8.21 ± 3.17, 9.64 ± 3.66, 10.85 ± 3.63, p < 0.0001; for humeral head, 3.36 ± 1.79, 3.87 ± 1.89, 4.39 ± 2.00, p < 0.0001). A significant decrease in SUVmax over time was observed for liver (6.79 ± 2.03; 6.24 ± 1.99; 5.57 ± 1.74; p < 0.0001), muscle (0.95 ± 0.28; 0.93 ± 0.29; 0.86 ± 0.20; p < 0.027), and aorta (1.18 ± 0.34; 1.01 ± 0.32; 0.97 ± 0.30; p < 0.0001). No significant difference was observed for SUVmax in contralateral breast (0.8364 ± 0.40; 0.78 ± 0.38; 0.80 ± 0.35). Conclusion [18F]FLT-SUVmax increased between 30 and 80 min only in proliferating tissues. This could be helpful for discriminating between residual tumor and scar tissue.