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Detection of Proliferation in Gliomas by Positron Emission Tomography Imaging

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Book cover The Cell Cycle in the Central Nervous System

Part of the book series: Contemporary Neuroscience ((CNEURO))

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Abstract

This chapter is a review of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of cellular proliferation in brain tumors. PET with [C-ll]-thymidine or [F-18]-fluorothymidine is in the developmental stages. Estimation of proliferation requires (a) injecting one of these tracers intravenously followed by (b) collecting emission data from the tumor with the tomograph, (c) sampling arterial blood radioactivity during imaging, (d) analyzing plasma metabolites of the tracers, and (e) mathematically modeling all of the data. The calculated specific retention of the tracers as estimates of proliferation is expressed as a flux constant with units of milliliters per minute per gram. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the transport, and ultimately the uptake, of both of these tracers. This complicates assessing proliferation in regions of tumors located behind an intact BBB and requires the estimation of the transport rate in addition to flux in regions where the BBB is broken down. Despite these challenges, early data show that estimations of proliferation by PET correlate well with tumor grade. However, more work is necessary to evaluate how reliably these tracers can be used to assess response to treatment interventions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA

    Alexander M. Spence MD & Daniel L. Silbergeld MD

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA

    David A. Mankoff MD, PhD, Joanne M. Wells MS, Mark Muzi MS, John R. Grierson PhD, Janet F. Eary MD, Jeanne M. Link PhD & Kenneth A. Krohn PhD

  3. Department of Statistics, University of Cork, Cork, Ireland

    S. Finbarr O’Sullivan PhD

Authors
  1. Alexander M. Spence MD
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  2. David A. Mankoff MD, PhD
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  3. Joanne M. Wells MS
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  4. Mark Muzi MS
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  5. John R. Grierson PhD
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  6. Janet F. Eary MD
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  7. S. Finbarr O’Sullivan PhD
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  8. Jeanne M. Link PhD
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  9. Daniel L. Silbergeld MD
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  10. Kenneth A. Krohn PhD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

    Damir Janigro PhD

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Spence, A.M. et al. (2006). Detection of Proliferation in Gliomas by Positron Emission Tomography Imaging. In: Janigro, D. (eds) The Cell Cycle in the Central Nervous System. Contemporary Neuroscience. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-021-8_29

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