18F-FDG PET/CT AS AN ASSESSMENT TOOL OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA SECONDARY TO NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE DEVELOPMENT IN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL

• Published in: Arquivos de gastroenterologia 2019-01, Vol.56 (1), p.45
• Main Authors: Levy, Caio de Souza, Costa, Fernando Gomes de Barros, Faria, Daniele de Paula, Stefano, Jose Tadeu, Cogliati, Bruno, Oliveira, Claudia P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Carcinoma - diagnostic imaging; Carcinoma - pathology; Carcinoma - secondary; Disease Models, Animal; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - administration & dosage; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - diagnostic imaging; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - pathology; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - secondary; Male; Neoplasm Grading; Neoplasm Staging; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - complications; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography - methods; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography - standards; Prognosis; Radiopharmaceuticals - administration & dosage; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 1678-4219

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be the last step of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) evolution. Experimental models are crucial to elucidate the pathogenesis of HCC secondary to NAFLD. The 2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) plays an important role in evaluating HCC development and progression. To standardize the imaging method of PET/CT with 18F-FDG as an evaluation tool of the experimental model of HCC secondary to NAFLD. Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with choline-deficient high-fat diet and diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in the drinking water for 16 weeks and then received 1 mL of saline solution (0.9%) daily by gavage for three weeks. At the 16th and 19th weeks, abdominal ultrasonography (USG) was performed. 18F-FDG PET/CT images were obtained before the beginning of experiment (week 0) and at the end (week 19). Histological and immunohistochemically analysis were also performed. The USG results showed a homogeneous group at the 16th week with an average of 4.6±2.74 nodules per animal. At the 19th week, PET/CT findings demonstrated an average of 8.5±3.7 nodules per animal. The mean values of SUVmed and SUVmax were 2.186±0.1698 and 3.8±1.74, respectively. The average number of nodules per animal in the histological analysis was 5.5±1.5. From all nodules, 4.6% were classified as well-differentiated HCC and 81.8% were classified as poorly-differentiated HCC. 18F-FDG PET/CT was able to evaluate the development of HCC in an experimental model of NAFLD non-invasively. From the standardization of PET/CT in this model, it is possible to use this tool in future studies to monitor, in vivo and non-invasively, the progression of HCC.