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Kinetic metrics of 18F-FDG in normal human organs identified by systematic dynamic total-body positron emission tomography

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the kinetic metrics of 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (18F-FDG) in normal organs by using dynamic total-body (TB) positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods

Dynamic TB-PET was performed for nine healthy volunteers. Time-to-activity curves (TACs) were obtained by drawing regions of interest in the organs. A two-tissue compartment model was fitted for each tissue TAC. Constant rates, including k1, k2, and k3, and the metabolic rate of FDG (MRFDG) were obtained. The parameter statistics, including the average, standard deviation, coefficient of variance, and inter-site and inter-individual variances, were compared.

Results

Constant rates and MRFDG varied significantly among organs and subjects, but not among sides or sub-regions within an organ. The mean k1 and k2 ranged from 0.0158 min−1 in the right lower lung to 1.1883 min−1 in the anterior wall of the left ventricle (LV) myocardium and from 0.1116 min−1 in the left parietal white matter to 4.6272 min−1 in the left thyroid, respectively. The k3 was lowest in the right upper area of the liver and highest in the septal wall of the LV myocardium. Mean MRFDG ranged from 23.1696 μmol/100 g/min in the parietal cortex to 0.5945 μmol/100 g/min in the lung. Four groups of organs with similar kinetic characteristics were identified: (1) the cerebral white matter, lung, liver, muscle, bone, and bone marrow; (2) cerebral and cerebellar cortex; (3) LV myocardium and thyroid; and (4) pancreas, spleen, and kidney.

Conclusion

The kinetic rates and MRFDG significantly differed among organs. The kinetic metrics of FDG parameters in normal organs can serve as a reference for future dynamic PET imaging and research.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Shanghai “Rising Stars of Medical Talent”—Youth Development Program (grant number: HWJRS2019-72), the Training Program for Excellent Young Medical Talents of Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University (grant number: 2019ZSYQ28), the Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty Project (grant number: shslczdzk03401), the Major Science and Technology Projects for Major New Drug Creation (2019ZX09302001), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number: 2016YFC0103908), the Three-year Action Plan of Clinical Skills and Innovation of Shanghai Hospital Development Center (grant number: SHDC2020CR3079B), and the Shanghai Science and Technology Committe (grant number: 20DZ2201800).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Guobing Liu and Hongrong Xu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 180 in Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

    Guobing Liu, Pengcheng Hu, Hui Tan, Yiqiu Zhang, Haojun Yu & Hongcheng Shi

  2. Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Guobing Liu, Pengcheng Hu, Hui Tan, Yiqiu Zhang, Haojun Yu & Hongcheng Shi

  3. Shanghai Institute of Medical Imaging, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Guobing Liu, Pengcheng Hu, Hui Tan, Yiqiu Zhang, Haojun Yu & Hongcheng Shi

  4. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 180 in Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

    Hongrong Xu & Xuening Li

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  1. Guobing Liu
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Contributions

G.L. and H.S. had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. G.L., X.L., and H.S. were responsible for the concept and design of the study. G.L., P.H., Y.Z., and H.T. were involved in data acquisition. G.L., H.X., X.L., and H.S. were involved in data analysis and interpretation. G.L. and H.S. drafted the manuscript, and all authors revised it critically. G.L. and H.X. performed the statistical analysis. G.L. and H.S. obtained funding. X.L. and H.S. supervised the study.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xuening Li or Hongcheng Shi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University (approval number: IRB2015-098). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the included patients for participation in this study.

Consent for publication

The authors affirm that the human research participants provided informed consent for the publication of the studied data and the images in Fig. 1.

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Liu, G., Xu, H., Hu, P. et al. Kinetic metrics of 18F-FDG in normal human organs identified by systematic dynamic total-body positron emission tomography. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 48, 2363–2372 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-020-05124-y

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