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18FDG uptake associated with CT density on PET/CT in lungs with and without chronic interstitial lung diseases

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Abstract

Objective

The dependent-density of computed tomography (CT) images of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT is sometimes difficult to distinguish from chronic interstitial lung disease (ILD) when it accompanies increased 18F-fluorodeoxy-d-glucose (18FDG) uptake. Though the possible utility of 18FDG-PET for the diagnosis of active ILD has been reported, the clinical relevance of mild lung 18FDG uptake in ILD cases without signs and symptoms suggesting acute progression has not been described. This study aimed to test relationships between 18FDG uptake and lung density on CT using PET/CT in patients with normal lung as well as clinically stable chronic ILD.

Methods

Thirty-six patients with normal lungs (controls) and 28 patients with chronic ILD (ILD cases) without acute exacerbation were retrospectively selected from 18FDG-PET/CT scans performed in examination of malignant neoplasms. Elliptical regions of interest (ROIs) were placed on the lung. The relationships between CT density and 18FDG uptake between the control and ILD cases were tested.

Results

The CT density and 18FDG uptake had a linear correlation in both the controls and the ILD cases without a difference in their regression slopes, and they were overlapped between the controls and the ILD cases with higher mean values in the ILD cases.

Conclusions

Lung 18FDG uptake was considered to reflect a gravity-dependent tissue density in the normal lung. Though the lung 18FDG uptake as well as the CT density tended to be higher in chronic ILD patients, it may be difficult to distinguish them in normal dependent regions from those related to chronic ILD in some cases.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the technical staff of Tohoku University Hospital for PET data acquisition. This study was supported, in part, by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B), 19790852, and a Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research (17-12) from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan

    Kentaro Inoue, Ken Okada, Yasuyuki Taki, Ryoi Goto, Shigeo Kinomura & Hiroshi Fukuda

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  1. Kentaro Inoue
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  2. Ken Okada
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  3. Yasuyuki Taki
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  4. Ryoi Goto
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  6. Hiroshi Fukuda
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Correspondence to Kentaro Inoue.

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Inoue, K., Okada, K., Taki, Y. et al. 18FDG uptake associated with CT density on PET/CT in lungs with and without chronic interstitial lung diseases. Ann Nucl Med 23, 277–281 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-009-0234-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-009-0234-8

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