Molecular Imaging of Head and Neck Cancer by Positron Emission Tomography

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  • PETを用いた癌分子イメージング：頭頸部がん領域への応用
  • PET オ モチイタ ガン ブンシ イメージング : アタマ ケイブ ガン リョウイキ エ ノ オウヨウ

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The imaging of specific molecular targets associated with cancer can be expected to allow earlier diagnosis and better management of oncology cancer patients. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a highly sensitive non-invasive technology that is ideally suited to clinical imaging of cancer biology. 2’-Deoxy-2’-18F-fluorodeoxy glucose (FDG) PET is now widely used for the diagnosis of malignant tumors and assessment of the therapeutic response. However, FDG is also metabolized at sites of inflammation and in other physiologically reactive organs, so that development of newer imaging probes with specificity for cancer are needed. The amount of DNA synthesis is a measure of cellular proliferation, and increased cellular proliferation is a feature of cancer. Thymidine analogs, 3’-deoxy-3’-18F-fluorothymidine (FLT) and 4’-[methyl-11C]-thiothymidine (4DST), have been introduced as stable cell proliferation imaging agents. Our recent researches have shown that FLT and 4DST PET show high sensitivity for the detection of head and neck cancer, despite the low uptake level of the tracers. In regard to assessment of the therapeutic response, FLT PET during treatment and early follow-up has the potential to predict therapeutic responses, with the ability to discriminate residual tumors from inflammatory changes. Volume-based parameters of pretreatment 4DST-PET can provide important prognostic information in patients with head and neck cancer.<br/>A depth-of interaction (DOI) detector is a key device to obtain any significant improvement of the sensitivity while maintaining high spatial resolution. DOI measurement also has the potential to expand the field of application of PET, because it allows for more flexible detector arrangement.<br/>New molecular imaging probes have also been developed for visualization of the brain and nervous system functions. Future applications are expected to allow analysis of the functions of sensory areas and diagnosis of sensory nerve disorders.

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