DYNAMIC STUDY OF SUPRATENTORIAL GLIOMAS WITH L-METHYL-C-11-METHIONINE AND POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

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  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 6  (4) , 505-514
Abstract
The regional kinetics of i.v. injected L-methyl-11C-met (11C-L-Met) in the brain was investigated by positron emission tomography (PET) in 14 patients with gliomas. In tumor and unaffected brain the tracer uptake reached a nearly constant level in 5 min or less. The ratio between the uptake of 11C-L-Met by high-grade tumors and the uptake by unaffected brain was 1.9-4.8. In 2 cases of low-grade astrocytoma the ratio was 0.8-1.0. High uptakes of 11C-L-Met occurred in gliomas even in the absence of blood-brain barrier defects as observed by other methods. Besides active transport of amino acid, a larger extracellular space in tumor as compared with unaffected brain tissue may also contribute to the increased uptake of 11C-L-Met-derived radioactivity. In some patients delineation of the tumors was improved by use of PET with 11C-L-Met as compared with computed tomography, angiography and PET with 68Ga-EDTA [disodium ethylene diaminetetraacetate]. PET with 11C-L-Met permits better evaluation of the tumor extent and may affect preoperative grading.