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Objectives: To determine the value of intravenous contrast medium in (68)Ga-DOTA-Phe(1)-Tyr(3)-octreotide - (68)Ga-DOTATOC - PET/CT for the detection of abdominal neuroendocrine tumours (NET). Methods: In fifty-five patients with known or suspected NETs of the abdomen PET/CT was performed on a 64-row multi-detector hybrid system. For PET, 150 MBq of (68)Ga-DOTATOC were injected intravenously. Full-dose unenhanced, and arterial- and venous-phase contrast-enhanced CT images were obtained. Unenhanced and contrast-enhanced PET/CT images were evaluated separately for the presence of NETs on a per-region basis, by two separate teams with different experience levels. Results: On unenhanced PET/CT, sensitivity and specificity ranged from 89.3% (junior team) to 92% (senior team), and 99.1% (junior team) to 99.2% (senior team), respectively. On contrast-enhanced PET/CT, sensitivity and specificity ranged from 92.3% (junior team) to 98.5% (senior team), and 99.4% (junior team) to 99.5% (senior team), respectively. These increases in sensitivity and specificity, due to the use of contrast-enhanced images, were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: Intravenous contrast medium only moderately, aleit significantly, improves the sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for the detection of abdominal NETs, and hardly affects specificity. Thus, while contrast enhancement is justified to achieve maximum sensitivity, unenhanced images may be sufficient for routine PET/CT in NET patients. Key Points: • Contrast media moderately improve the sensitivity of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for neuroendocrine tumours. • Contrast media hardly affect the specificity of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for neuroendocrine tumours. • Unenhanced PET/CT is sufficient for routine imaging of patients with neuroendocrine tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The aim of this pilot study was to assess tumour hypoxia in patients with cervical cancer before, during and after combined radio-chemotherapy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guided brachytherapy (BT) by use of the hypoxia Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracer 18F-fluoroazomycin-arabinoside (18FAZA ). Material and methods. Fifteen consecutive patients with locally advanced cervical cancer referred for definitive radiotherapy (RT) were included in an approved clinical protocol. Stage distribution was 3 IB1, 1 IB2, 10 IIB, 1 IIIB, tumour volume was 55 cm3 (+/− 67, SD). Dynamic and static 18FAZA -PET scans were performed before, during and after external beam therapy (EBRT) and image guided BT +/− concomitant cisplatin. Dose was prescribed to the individual High Risk Clinical Target Volume (HR CTV) taking into account the dose volume constraints for adjacent organs at risk. Results. Five patients had visually identifiable tumours on 18FAZA -PET scans performed prior to radio-chemotherapy and four patients before brachytherapy. One of five 18FAZA PET positive patients had incomplete remission three months after RT, one had regional recurrence. Four of ten 18FAZA-PET negative patients developed distant metastases. The one patient with incomplete remission received 69 Gy (D90) in the HR CTV, whereas all other patients received mean 99 Gy (+/−12, SD). Conclusion. PET imaging with 18FAZA is feasible in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix. However, its predictive and prognostic value remains to be clarified. This applies in particular for the additional value of 18FAZA-PET compared to morphologic repetitive MRI within the setting of image guided high dose radiotherapy which may contribute to overcome hypoxia related radioresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytokines produced by cytotoxic T cells or autoantibodies lead to thyroid cell damage and/or cell death in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Anti-TPO autoantibodies (TPOAb) are the most frequently represented autoantibodies in the sera of patients with HT. Data describing the quantitative correlation between TPOAb titre and cytokine pattern are missing so far. To our knowledge this is the first study systematically evaluating the correlation of possible parameters of disease activity such as changes in CD4 and CD8 T-cell cytokine production and of TPOAb titre. Twenty-four consecutive patients (aged 29–58) with verified HT under levothyroxine therapy were included in the present study. The patients were divided into two groups. Group I: 12 HT patients with a high TPOAb titre (> 1000 U/ml), group II: 12 HT patients with a low TPOAb titre (< 100 U/ml). All patients underwent intracellular cytokine detection in CD4 and CD8 T cells of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by flow cytometry. Twelve healthy volunteers matched in sex and age consisted the control group (group III). T cells from patients with a high TPOAb titre (group I) had significantly higher percentages of cells producing IFN-γ compared to healthy donors (group III). A detailed analysis of cytokine production patterns revealed that this was accompanied by an increased frequency of single IFN-γ positive cells, i.e. cells not expressing other cytokines tested, such as IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13 or TNF-β. Similarly, patients in group I also showed higher percentages of TNF-α positive cells than healthy donors (group III). In this case, cells expressing TNF-α alone as well as cells coexpressing TNF-α and IFN-γ were found at significantly higher frequencies. On the other hand, cytokine production patterns of patients with a low TPOAb titre (group II) showed significant difference neither to patients of group I nor to healthy donors (group III). Taken together, we were able for the first time to demonstrate that high TPOAb titre correlates with increased frequencies of T cells producing Th/Tc1 cytokines, probably responsible for thyroid cell damage and/or death in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study were: (a) to prospectively assess the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (SCC); and (b) to assess ADC and SUVmax values in relation to different tumour grades and stages in our patient population. Methods: The study group comprised 31 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who were examined using a 3T MRI scanner with a 16-channel head and neck coil. In addition to routine sequences, axial (DWIBS) and sagittal (DW-EPI) diffusion-weighted sequences were obtained using b-values of 0 mm/s and 800 mm/s. The ADC maps were calculated automatically. The ADC values of the tumours were measured with three regions of interest (ROIs) of standard size, and an ROI covering the entire tumour. In all patients, contrast-enhanced, whole-body F-FDG PET/CT was performed within 2 weeks of the MRI examination. SUVmax was measured for every tumour using a 3-D freehand ROI that covered the entire tumour. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used for group comparisons. The Spearman rank correlation test was performed for ADC values. Results: Mean ADC values in the 31 SCC were 0.902 (±0.134) with a ROI of standard size, and 0.928 (±0.160) with the large ROI measurements on the axial DWIBS sequence. The ADC values of the tumours were significantly higher when measured with the sagittal DW-EPI sequence: 1.051 (±0.211) and 1.082 (±0.208). We observed no significant differences in ADC values and SUVmax between the various T stages or histological grades of the tumours. SUVmax values (26.5±12) did not correlate with ADC values on DWIBS or EPI. Conclusion: There is no correlation between the FDG uptake and the ADC value in head and neck SCC. The three different tumour grades and four tumour stages present in our study population could not be differentiated based on ADC values or SUV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Functional imaging of the adrenal cortex by means of PET may play an important clinical role. Recently, we presented the synthesis and first evaluation of a novel 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor, [18F] FETO, in rats displaying high tracer accumulation in the adrenals. In this study, we aimed to investigate for the first time the potency of [18F]FETO as a PET tracer for the adrenal cortex in humans. Methods: An average preparation yielded 1-2 GBq of [18F]FETO ready to use. Ten healthy volunteers aged 24-57 years (five male and five female) were included in the study. After i.v. administration of 365 MBq [18F] FETO (246-391 MBq), dynamic images were acquired in 2D standard mode in 14 frames over 45 min. Afterwards, whole-body scanning was performed. In addition to visual interpretation, semi-quantitative analysis using standardised uptake values (SUVs) was conducted. Results: [18F]FETO distribution was similar in all scanned volunteers. Visually, pronounced accumulation of [18F] FETO was found in the adrenals, whereas moderate uptake was observed—at least in some of the subjects—for liver, renal calices, gallbladder, stomach walls and pancreas. Kidney and bowels showed only faint uptake. Median SUVs for the right and left adrenal glands were 15.6 (10.0-28.6) and 15.7 (10.3-35.9), respectively. The reference tissue (liver) displayed a median SUV of 2.5 (2.2-4.6). Conclusion: [18F]FETO is a valuable tracer for adrenocortical PET imaging, combining the longer half-life of 18F with a high 11β-hydroxylase selectivity. In accordance with our findings in rats, FETO PET revealed very high accumulation in the adrenal glands in healthy volunteers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]