Comparison of [18F]FDG and [68 Ga]pentixafor PET/CT in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Mengna Liu; Xi Chen; Haoyuan Ding; Qiaoqiao Shu; Yun Zheng; Yue Chen; Liang Cai

doi:10.1007/s11307-024-01913-1

Comparison of [¹⁸F]FDG and [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Mol Imaging Biol. 2024 Apr 16. doi: 10.1007/s11307-024-01913-1. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mengna Liu^{1

2

3}, Xi Chen^{1

2

3}, Haoyuan Ding^{1

2

3}, Qiaoqiao Shu^{1

2

3}, Yun Zheng⁴, Yue Chen^{1

2

3}, Liang Cai^{5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.
² Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.
³ Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.
⁴ Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China. 15770102@qq.com.
⁵ Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China. cllc131420@sina.com.
⁶ Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China. cllc131420@sina.com.
⁷ Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China. cllc131420@sina.com.

PMID: 38627276
DOI: 10.1007/s11307-024-01913-1

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Procedures: This prospective study included patients with NPC who underwent [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT and 2-[¹⁸F]fuoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([¹⁸F]FDG) PET/CT within one week between November 2022 and March 2023. The [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor and [¹⁸F]FDG uptakes in primary and metastatic lesions were measured and compared.

Results: Twenty-five participants (21 patients for initial stage and four patients for recurrence detection) were enrolled in our study. The participants underwent [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT and [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT. [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT had the same detection rate as [¹⁸F]FDG for primary tumor (96% vs. 96%). The [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor maximum standard uptake value (SUV_max) and target-to-background ratio (TBR) of primary tumors were lower than those of [¹⁸F]FDG (SUV_max: 8.13 ± 2.78 vs. 14.25 ± 6.45; P < 0.01; TBR: 5.17 ± 2.14 vs. 9.81 ± 5.30, P < 0.01). The difference between tumor volume of [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor (TV_pentixafor) and tumor volume of [¹⁸F]FDG (TV_FDG) showed no significance (median: 16.01 vs. 9.56, P = 0.332). In the detection of suspected metastatic cervical lymph nodes (CLNs), [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET possessed a lower SUV_max than [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT (SUV_max: 6.86 ± 2.63 vs. 10.39 ± 5.28, P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the detection rate between [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT (96 vs. 98, P = 0.613).

Conclusions: [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor is a promising imaging tracer for detecting primary and metastatic NPC. [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT is comparable to [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in the detection rate of primary tumors and metastatic cervical lymph nodes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor uptake was heterogeneous. [⁶⁸ Ga]pentixafor PET/CT may help select patients most likely to benefit from CXCR4-directed endoradiotherapy.

Clinical trial registration no: ChiCTR2200065902.

Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; PET/CT; SUVmax; [18F]FDG; [68 Ga]pentixafor.

Abstract

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