Illustration of the Added Value of 18F-DOPA PET to Multimodal MRI to Distinguish Low- and High-Grade Gliomas

Abstract

18F-DOPA PET-MRI was performed on a 38-year-old man referred for complementary imaging after a brain tumor was discovered, according to EANM/RANO recommendations. We performed a simultaneous PET with 3-T brain MRI, which revealed 2 high 18F-DOPA uptakes, with no multimodal MRI sign of aggressiveness. An awake surgery was performed and found a grade III anaplastic astrocytoma IDH1-R132L mutant, according to the 2016 WHO classification. This was probably the aggressive transition of a grade II diffuse astrocytoma. This case illustrates the added value of 18F-DOPA PET to multimodal MRI to distinguish low- and high-grade gliomas.