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Evaluation of the treatment response of lung cancer with positron emission tomography and l-[methyl-11C]methionine: a preliminary study

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Abstract

We carried out a study to evaluate treatment response and residual mass in lung cancer with positron emission tomography (PET), using l-[methyl-11C]methionine (MET). MET tumour uptake and tumour volume measured by computed tomography (CT) before and within 2 weeks after radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy were compared in 43 studies of 21 patients. Ten patients with local control (no recurrence) of tumour showed a larger decrease in MET uptake (65.2%±12.2%) than in tumour volume (50.8%±9.6%, P<0.01). Five patients with early recurrence (from 1 to 4 months) showed smaller decreases in both MET uptake (22.2%±13.5%) and tumour volume (28.6%±20.0%) than those in the no-recurrence group (P<0.01). Four patients with late recurrence (after 11 months or more) showed a similar decrease to the no-recurrence group in MET uptake (72.8%±14.8%) but little change in tumour volume (18.5%±19.0%), the latter result corresponding to that in the early-recurrence group. Using tumour volume only, the no-recurrence group was differentiated from both the early- and the late-recurrence group (P < 0.01), but the early-recurrence group was not differentiated from the late-recurrence group. Using the MET uptake data, the early-recurrence group was clearly distinguished from the late-recurrence group (P<0.01), but the late-recurrence group was indistinguishable from the no-recurrence group. CT was useful in distinguishing the no-recurrence group from the groups in which there was ultimate recurrence, whether early or late. When a residual mass is seen on CT, PET seems to be helpful in evaluating tumour viability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Research Institute for Cancer and Tuberculosis, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, 980, Sendai, Japan

    Kazuo Kubota, Susumu Yamada, Takehiko Fujiwara & Hiroshi Fukuda

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Research Institute for Cancer and Tuberculosis, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, 980, Sendai, Japan

    Kiichi Ishiwata, Masatoshi Ito & Tatsuo Ido

  3. Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University, 980, Sendai, Japan

    Masao Tada

Authors
  1. Kazuo Kubota
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  2. Susumu Yamada
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  3. Kiichi Ishiwata
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  4. Masatoshi Ito
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  5. Takehiko Fujiwara
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  6. Hiroshi Fukuda
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  7. Masao Tada
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  8. Tatsuo Ido
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Correspondence to: K. Kubota

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Kubota, K., Yamada, S., Ishiwata, K. et al. Evaluation of the treatment response of lung cancer with positron emission tomography and l-[methyl-11C]methionine: a preliminary study. Eur J Nucl Med 20, 495–501 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175162

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175162

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