Abstract
PURPOSE: Positron emission tomography (PET) has gained widespread use in cancer diagnosis and treatment, but how many malignant cells are required for a tumour to be detected by PET?
METHODS: Three human cancer cell lines [glioblastoma and two subtypes of small cell lung cancer (SCLC)] in concentrations from 10(4) to 10(7) were seeded on six-well plates or plastic tubes and treated with [(18)F]fluorodeoxy-glucose (FDG) in vitro. FDG retention was measured in a PET/CT scanner and in a calibrated well counter. The clinical situation was simulated using a cylinder phantom with a background concentration of FDG.
RESULTS: The theoretical detection limit was found to be around 10(5) malignant cells. In a cylinder phantom the detection limit was increased by a factor of 10. The FDG retention by the glioblastoma cell line was significantly higher than the activity of the SCLC cell line. FDG retention measured by PET and a gamma counter was closely correlated to the number of cells and a linear relationship was found.
DISCUSSION: The detection limit of PET is in the magnitude of 10(5) to 10(6) malignant cells. The experimental set-up was robust and well suited as a platform for further investigations of factors influencing the detection limit of PET.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 697-702 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| ISSN | 1619-7070 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Carcinoma, Small Cell/diagnostic imaging
- Cell Count/methods
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/pharmacokinetics
- Glioblastoma/diagnostic imaging
- Humans
- Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging
- Positron-Emission Tomography/methods
- Reproducibility of Results
- Sensitivity and Specificity