摘要
Background： The detection of solitary pulmonary nodules （SPNs） that may potentially develop into a malignant lesion is essential for early clinical interventions. However, grading classification based on computed tomography （CT） imaging results remains a significant challenge. The 2-[^18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose （^18F-FDG） positron emission tomography （PET）/CT imaging produces both false-positive and false-negative findings for the diagnosis of SPNs. In this study, we compared 18F-FDG and 3-deoxy-3-[^18F]-fluorothymidine （^18F-FLT） in lung cancer PET/CT imaging. Methods： The binding ratios of the two tracers to A549 lung cancer cells were calculated. The mouse lung cancer model was established （n = 12）, and micro-PET/CT analysis using the two tracers was performed. Images using the two tracers were collected from 55 lung cancer patients with SPNs. The correlation among the cell-tracer binding ratios, standardized uptake values （SUVs）, and Ki-67 proliferation marker expression were investigated. Results： The cell-tracer binding ratio for the A549 cells using the ^18F-FDG was greater than the ratio using 18F-FLT （P 〈 0.05）. The Ki-67 expression showed a significant positive correlation with the ^18F-FLT binding ratio （r = 0.824, P〈 0.01）. The tumor-to-nontumor uptake ratio of ^18F-FDG imaging in xenografts was higher than that of ^18F-FLT imaging. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and the accuracy of ^18F-FDG for lung cancer were 89%, 67%, and 73%, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and the accuracy of ^18F-FLT for lung cancer were 71%, 79%, and 76%, respectively. There was an obvious positive correlation between the lung cancer Ki-67 expression and the mean maximum SUV of ^18F-FDG and ^18F-FLT （r = 0.658, P〈 0.05 and r = 0.724, P〈 0.01, respectively）. Conclusions： The ^18F-FDG uptake ratio is higher than that of ^18F-FLT in A549 cells at the cellular level.^18F-FLT imaging might be superior for the quantitative diagnosis of lung tumor tissue and could distinguish lung cancer nodules from other SPNs.
Background： The detection of solitary pulmonary nodules （SPNs） that may potentially develop into a malignant lesion is essential for early clinical interventions. However, grading classification based on computed tomography （CT） imaging results remains a significant challenge. The 2-[^18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose （^18F-FDG） positron emission tomography （PET）/CT imaging produces both false-positive and false-negative findings for the diagnosis of SPNs. In this study, we compared 18F-FDG and 3-deoxy-3-[^18F]-fluorothymidine （^18F-FLT） in lung cancer PET/CT imaging. Methods： The binding ratios of the two tracers to A549 lung cancer cells were calculated. The mouse lung cancer model was established （n = 12）, and micro-PET/CT analysis using the two tracers was performed. Images using the two tracers were collected from 55 lung cancer patients with SPNs. The correlation among the cell-tracer binding ratios, standardized uptake values （SUVs）, and Ki-67 proliferation marker expression were investigated. Results： The cell-tracer binding ratio for the A549 cells using the ^18F-FDG was greater than the ratio using 18F-FLT （P 〈 0.05）. The Ki-67 expression showed a significant positive correlation with the ^18F-FLT binding ratio （r = 0.824, P〈 0.01）. The tumor-to-nontumor uptake ratio of ^18F-FDG imaging in xenografts was higher than that of ^18F-FLT imaging. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and the accuracy of ^18F-FDG for lung cancer were 89%, 67%, and 73%, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and the accuracy of ^18F-FLT for lung cancer were 71%, 79%, and 76%, respectively. There was an obvious positive correlation between the lung cancer Ki-67 expression and the mean maximum SUV of ^18F-FDG and ^18F-FLT （r = 0.658, P〈 0.05 and r = 0.724, P〈 0.01, respectively）. Conclusions： The ^18F-FDG uptake ratio is higher than that of ^18F-FLT in A549 cells at the cellular level.^18F-FLT imaging might be superior for the quantitative diagnosis of lung tumor tissue and could distinguish lung cancer nodules from other SPNs.
基金
This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 81271607）, and the National Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China （No. 2015M572810）.
