What is the relationship between 18F-FDG aortic aneurysm uptake on PET/CT and future growth rate?

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2011-08, Vol.38 (8), p.1493-1499
• Main Authors: Kotze, Carl W., Groves, Ashley M., Menezes, Leon J., Harvey, Richard, Endozo, Raymondo, Kayani, Irfan A., Ell, Peter J., Yusuf, Syed W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - diagnosis; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - diagnostic imaging; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - metabolism; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - pathology; Biological Transport; Cardiology; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - metabolism; Humans; Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nuclear Medicine; Observer Variation; Oncology; Original Article; Orthopedics; Positron-Emission Tomography; Prospective Studies; Radiology; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-011-1799-8

Purpose In this study we investigate the relationship between 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) metabolism and future aneurysm expansion measured by serial duplex ultrasound. Current screening programmes are increasing the identification of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The management of these patients remains challenging and methods of risk stratification are sought. Methods Thirty-four consecutive patients [31 men, 3 women, median age 75 years, interquartile range (IQR) 71–78] with aortic aneurysms under routine surveillance with serial ultrasound were prospectively recruited for 18 F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. A whole vessel type analysis was performed measuring the highest aortic wall 18 F-FDG uptake (standardized uptake value or SUV max ), and target to background ratio (TBR) for each axial image and median SUV max and TBR value were calculated. Institutional Review Board permission and informed patient consent were obtained. Results Nine patients failed to undergo 12-month follow-up study (deceased n  = 2, withdrew n  = 1, failed to attend ultrasound scan n  = 5, emergency aneurysm repair n  = 1) leaving 25 patients for analysis. The median whole vessel SUV max was 1.70 (IQR 1.45–2.08). The median whole vessel TBR was 1.15 (IQR 1.00–1.40). The median aneurysm expansion at 12 months was 2.0 mm (IQR 0.5–5.0). The correlation ( r ) between 18 F-FDG SUV max and ultrasound expansion at 1 year was −0.501 ( p  = 0.011). Conclusion The preliminary findings from this observational longitudinal pilot study suggest that there is an inverse trend between 18 F-FDG uptake on PET and future AAA expansion. Aortic aneurysms with lower metabolic activity may therefore be more likely to expand.