PET-based response assessment criteria for diffuse gliomas (PET RANO 1.0): a report of the RANO group.

Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) response criteria have been established and were updated in 2023 for MRI-based response evaluation of diffuse gliomas in clinical trials. In addition, PET-based imaging with amino acid tracers is increasingly considered for disease monitoring in both clinical practice and clinical trials. So far, a standardised framework defining timepoints for baseline and follow-up investigations and response evaluation criteria for PET imaging of diffuse gliomas has not been established. Therefore, in this Policy Review, we propose a set of criteria for response assessment based on amino acid PET imaging in clinical trials enrolling participants with diffuse gliomas as defined in the 2021 WHO classification of tumours of the central nervous system. These proposed PET RANO criteria provide a conceptual framework that facilitates the structured implementation of PET imaging into clinical research and, ultimately, clinical routine. To this end, the PET RANO 1.0 criteria are intended to encourage specific investigations of amino acid PET imaging of gliomas.

High-temporal resolution functional PET/MRI reveals coupling between human metabolic and hemodynamic brain response.

PURPOSE: Positron emission tomography (PET) provides precise molecular information on physiological processes, but its low temporal resolution is a major obstacle. Consequently, we characterized the metabolic response of the human brain to working memory performance using an optimized functional PET (fPET) framework at a temporal resolution of 3 s. METHODS: Thirty-five healthy volunteers underwent fPET with [18F]FDG bolus plus constant infusion, 19 of those at a hybrid PET/MRI scanner. During the scan, an n-back working memory paradigm was completed. fPET data were reconstructed to 3 s temporal resolution and processed with a novel sliding window filter to increase signal to noise ratio. BOLD fMRI signals were acquired at 2 s. RESULTS: Consistent with simulated kinetic modeling, we observed a constant increase in the [18F]FDG signal during task execution, followed by a rapid return to baseline after stimulation ceased. These task-specific changes were robustly observed in brain regions involved in working memory processing. The simultaneous acquisition of BOLD fMRI revealed that the temporal coupling between hemodynamic and metabolic signals in the primary motor cortex was related to individual behavioral performance during working memory. Furthermore, task-induced BOLD deactivations in the posteromedial default mode network were accompanied by distinct temporal patterns in glucose metabolism, which were dependent on the metabolic demands of the corresponding task-positive networks. CONCLUSIONS: In sum, the proposed approach enables the advancement from parallel to truly synchronized investigation of metabolic and hemodynamic responses during cognitive processing. This allows to capture unique information in the temporal domain, which is not accessible to conventional PET imaging.

Validation of cardiac image-derived input functions for functional PET quantification.

PURPOSE: Functional PET (fPET) is a novel technique for studying dynamic changes in brain metabolism and neurotransmitter signaling. Accurate quantification of fPET relies on measuring the arterial input function (AIF), traditionally achieved through invasive arterial blood sampling. While non-invasive image-derived input functions (IDIF) offer an alternative, they suffer from limited spatial resolution and field of view. To overcome these issues, we developed and validated a scan protocol for brain fPET utilizing cardiac IDIF, aiming to mitigate known IDIF limitations. METHODS: Twenty healthy individuals underwent fPET/MR scans using [18F]FDG or 6-[18F]FDOPA, utilizing bed motion shuttling to capture cardiac IDIF and brain task-induced changes. Arterial and venous blood sampling was used to validate IDIFs. Participants performed a monetary incentive delay task. IDIFs from various blood pools and composites estimated from a linear fit over all IDIF blood pools (3VOI) and further supplemented with venous blood samples (3VOIVB) were compared to the AIF. Quantitative task-specific images from both tracers were compared to assess the performance of each input function to the gold standard. RESULTS: For both radiotracer cohorts, moderate to high agreement (r: 0.60-0.89) between IDIFs and AIF for both radiotracer cohorts was observed, with further improvement (r: 0.87-0.93) for composite IDIFs (3VOI and 3VOIVB). Both methods showed equivalent quantitative values and high agreement (r: 0.975-0.998) with AIF-derived measurements. CONCLUSION: Our proposed protocol enables accurate non-invasive estimation of the input function with full quantification of task-specific changes, addressing the limitations of IDIF for brain imaging by sampling larger blood pools over the thorax. These advancements increase applicability to any PET scanner and clinical research setting by reducing experimental complexity and increasing patient comfort.

Joint EANM/EANO/RANO/SNMMI practice guideline/procedure standards for diagnostics and therapy (theranostics) of meningiomas using radiolabeled somatostatin receptor ligands: version 1.0.

PURPOSE: To provide practice guideline/procedure standards for diagnostics and therapy (theranostics) of meningiomas using radiolabeled somatostatin receptor (SSTR) ligands. METHODS: This joint practice guideline/procedure standard was collaboratively developed by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), the European Association of Neurooncology (EANO), and the PET task force of the Response Assessment in Neurooncology Working Group (PET/RANO). RESULTS: Positron emission tomography (PET) using somatostatin receptor (SSTR) ligands can detect meningioma tissue with high sensitivity and specificity and may provide clinically relevant information beyond that obtained from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) imaging alone. SSTR-directed PET imaging can be particularly useful for differential diagnosis, delineation of meningioma extent, detection of osseous involvement, and the differentiation between posttherapeutic scar tissue and tumour recurrence. Moreover, SSTR-peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is an emerging investigational treatment approach for meningioma. CONCLUSION: These practice guidelines will define procedure standards for the application of PET imaging in patients with meningiomas and related SSTR-targeted PRRTs in routine practice and clinical trials and will help to harmonize data acquisition and interpretation across centers, facilitate comparability of studies, and to collect larger databases. The current document provides additional information to the evidence-based recommendations from the PET/RANO Working Group regarding the utilization of PET imaging in meningiomas Galldiks (Neuro Oncol. 2017;19(12):1576-87). The information provided should be considered in the context of local conditions and regulations.

EANM practice guidelines for an appropriate use of PET and SPECT for patients with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is one of the most frequent neurological conditions with an estimated prevalence of more than 50 million people worldwide and an annual incidence of two million. Although pharmacotherapy with anti-seizure medication (ASM) is the treatment of choice, ~30% of patients with epilepsy do not respond to ASM and become drug resistant. Focal epilepsy is the most frequent form of epilepsy. In patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, epilepsy surgery is a treatment option depending on the localisation of the seizure focus for seizure relief or seizure freedom with consecutive improvement in quality of life. Beside examinations such as scalp video/electroencephalography (EEG) telemetry, structural, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which are primary standard tools for the diagnostic work-up and therapy management of epilepsy patients, molecular neuroimaging using different radiopharmaceuticals with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) influences and impacts on therapy decisions. To date, there are no literature-based praxis recommendations for the use of Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging procedures in epilepsy. The aims of these guidelines are to assist in understanding the role and challenges of radiotracer imaging for epilepsy; to provide practical information for performing different molecular imaging procedures for epilepsy; and to provide an algorithm for selecting the most appropriate imaging procedures in specific clinical situations based on current literature. These guidelines are written and authorized by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) to promote optimal epilepsy imaging, especially in the presurgical setting in children, adolescents, and adults with focal epilepsy. They will assist NM healthcare professionals and also specialists such as Neurologists, Neurophysiologists, Neurosurgeons, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and others involved in epilepsy management in the detection and interpretation of epileptic seizure onset zone (SOZ) for further treatment decision. The information provided should be applied according to local laws and regulations as well as the availability of various radiopharmaceuticals and imaging modalities.

Whole-body metabolic connectivity framework with functional PET.

The nervous and circulatory system interconnects the various organs of the human body, building hierarchically organized subsystems, enabling fine-tuned, metabolically expensive brain-body and inter-organ crosstalk to appropriately adapt to internal and external demands. A deviation or failure in the function of a single organ or subsystem could trigger unforeseen biases or dysfunctions of the entire network, leading to maladaptive physiological or psychological responses. Therefore, quantifying these networks in healthy individuals and patients may help further our understanding of complex disorders involving body-brain crosstalk. Here we present a generalized framework to automatically estimate metabolic inter-organ connectivity utilizing whole-body functional positron emission tomography (fPET). The developed framework was applied to 16 healthy subjects (mean age ± SD, 25 ± 6 years; 13 female) that underwent one dynamic 18F-FDG PET/CT scan. Multiple procedures of organ segmentation (manual, automatic, circular volumes) and connectivity estimation (polynomial fitting, spatiotemporal filtering, covariance matrices) were compared to provide an optimized thorough overview of the workflow. The proposed approach was able to estimate the metabolic connectivity patterns within brain regions and organs as well as their interactions. Automated organ delineation, but not simplified circular volumes, showed high agreement with manual delineation. Polynomial fitting yielded similar connectivity as spatiotemporal filtering at the individual subject level. Furthermore, connectivity measures and group-level covariance matrices did not match. The strongest brain-body connectivity was observed for the liver and kidneys. The proposed framework offers novel opportunities towards analyzing metabolic function from a systemic, hierarchical perspective in a multitude of physiological pathological states.

The trends and significance of SSTR PET/CT added to MRI in follow-up imaging of low-grade meningioma treated with fractionated proton therapy.

PURPOSE: Overexpression of the somatostatin receptor (SSTR) has led to adoption of SSTR PET/CT for diagnosis and radiotherapy planning in meningioma, but data on SSTR expression during follow-up remain scarce. We investigated PET/CT quantifiers of SSTR tracers in WHO grade I meningioma following fractionated proton beam therapy (PBT) compared to standard response assessment with MRI. METHODS: Twenty-two patients diagnosed with low-grade meningioma treated by PBT were included. Follow-up included clinical visits, MRI, and [68Ga]Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT scans. Radiologic tumor response, MRI and PET volume (VMRI and VPET), maximum and mean standardied uptake value (SUVmax/SUVmean), total lesion activity (TLA), and heterogeneity index (HI) were evaluated. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 35.3 months (range: 6.4-47.9). Nineteen patients (86.4%, p = 0.0009) showed a decrease of SUVmax between baseline and first follow-up PET/CT (median: -24%, range: -53% to +89%) and in 81.8% of all cases, the SUVmax, SUVmean, and TLA at last follow-up were eventually lower than at baseline (p = 0.0043). Ambiguous trends without significance between the timepoints analyzed were observed for VPET. HI increased between baseline and last follow-up in 75% of cases (p = 0.024). All patients remained radiologically and clinically stable. Median VMRI decreased by -9.3% (range 0-32.5%, p < 0.0001) between baseline and last follow-up. CONCLUSION: PET/CT in follow-up of irradiated meningioma showed an early trend towards decreased binding of SSTR-specific tracers following radiation and MRI demonstrated consistently stable or decreasing tumor volume. Translational research is needed to clarify the underlying biology of the subsequent increase in SSTR PET quantifiers.

Cardiac DPD-uptake time dependency in ATTR patients verified by quantitative SPECT/CT and semiquantitative planar parameters.

BACKGROUND: Bone scintigraphy plays an important role in the diagnosis of cardiac Transthyretin-Related Amyloidosis (ATTR). The mechanism of myocardial tracer accumulation and its dependence over time are not fully understood. Recently, a scintigraphic quantification of the cardiac amyloid deposition has been discussed. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the right time of quantitative imaging. METHODS: The geometrical mean of decay corrected total counts over the heart and the heart/whole-body ratio (H/WB) were evaluated in 23 patients undergoing DPD-bone scan with planar whole-body images 1 and 3 hours post injection (p.i.). Myocardial standard uptake values (SUV)peak were assessed in another 15 patients with quantitative SPECT/CT imaging 1 hours and 3 hours p.i.. RESULTS: Total counts over the heart (1 hours p.i.: 81,676 cts, range 69,887 to 93,091 cts and 3 hours p.i.: 64,819 cts, range 52,048 to 86,123 cts, P = .0005) and H/WB ratio (1 hours p.i.:0.076 ± 0.020 and 3 hours p.i. 0.070 ± 0.022; P = .0003) were significantly increased 1 hours p.i.. Furthermore median myocardial SUVpeak (1 hours p.i.:12.2, range 9.6 to 18.9 and 3 hours p.i.: 9.6, range 8.2 to 15.0, P = 0.0012) was also significantly higher after 1 hours p.i. compared to 3 hours p.i.. CONCLUSION: Cardiac DPD activity and myocardial SUVpeak are time-dependent, which should be considered when using quantitative bone scintigraphy in ATTR patients.

Does [99mTc]-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (DPD) soft tissue uptake allow the identification of patients with the diagnosis of cardiac transthyretin-related (ATTR) amyloidosis with higher risk for polyneuropathy?

BACKGROUND: With the introduction of several drugs for the therapy of transthyretin-related amyloidosis (ATTR) which slow down the disease, early detection of polyneuropathy (PNP) is becoming increasingly of interest. [99mTc]-3,3-Diphosphono-1,2-Propanodicarboxylic Acid (DPD) bone scintigraphy, which is used for the diagnosis of cardiac (c)ATTR, can possibly make an important contribution in the identification of patients at risk for PNP. METHODS: Fifty patients with cATTR, who underwent both planar whole-body DPD scintigraphy and nerve conduction studies (NCS) were retrospectively evaluated. A subgroup of 22 patients also underwent quantitative SPECT/CT of the thorax from which Standardized Uptake Values (SUVpeak) in the subcutaneous fat tissue of the left axillar region were evaluated. RESULTS: The Perugini score was significantly increased in patients with cATTR and additional diagnosis of PNP compared to patients without (2.51 ± 0.51 vs 2.13 ± 0.52; P = 0.03). Quantitative SPECT/CT revealed that DPD uptake in the subcutaneous fat of the left axillar region was significantly increased in cATTR patients with compared to patients without (1.36 ± 0.60 vs 0.74 ± 0.52; P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that DPD bone scintigraphy is a useful tool for identification of patients with cATTR and a risk for PNP due to increased DPD soft tissue uptake.

EANM procedure guidelines for brain PET imaging using [18F]FDG, version 3.

The present procedural guidelines summarize the current views of the EANM Neuro-Imaging Committee (NIC). The purpose of these guidelines is to assist nuclear medicine practitioners in making recommendations, performing, interpreting, and reporting results of [18F]FDG-PET imaging of the brain. The aim is to help achieve a high-quality standard of [18F]FDG brain imaging and to further increase the diagnostic impact of this technique in neurological, neurosurgical, and psychiatric practice. The present document replaces a former version of the guidelines that have been published in 2009. These new guidelines include an update in the light of advances in PET technology such as the introduction of digital PET and hybrid PET/MR systems, advances in individual PET semiquantitative analysis, and current broadening clinical indications (e.g., for encephalitis and brain lymphoma). Further insight has also become available about hyperglycemia effects in patients who undergo brain [18F]FDG-PET. Accordingly, the patient preparation procedure has been updated. Finally, most typical brain patterns of metabolic changes are summarized for neurodegenerative diseases. The present guidelines are specifically intended to present information related to the European practice. The information provided should be taken in the context of local conditions and regulations.

Joint EANM/SIOPE/RAPNO practice guidelines/SNMMI procedure standards for imaging of paediatric gliomas using PET with radiolabelled amino acids and [18F]FDG: version 1.0.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has been widely used in paediatric oncology. 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) is the most commonly used radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging. For oncological brain imaging, different amino acid PET radiopharmaceuticals have been introduced in the last years. The purpose of this document is to provide imaging specialists and clinicians guidelines for indication, acquisition, and interpretation of [18F]FDG and radiolabelled amino acid PET in paediatric patients affected by brain gliomas. There is no high level of evidence for all recommendations suggested in this paper. These recommendations represent instead the consensus opinion of experienced leaders in the field. Further studies are needed to reach evidence-based recommendations for the applications of [18F]FDG and radiolabelled amino acid PET in paediatric neuro-oncology. These recommendations are not intended to be a substitute for national and international legal or regulatory provisions and should be considered in the context of good practice in nuclear medicine. The present guidelines/standards were developed collaboratively by the EANM and SNMMI with the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) Brain Tumour Group and the Response Assessment in Paediatric Neuro-Oncology (RAPNO) working group. They summarize also the views of the Neuroimaging and Oncology and Theranostics Committees of the EANM and reflect recommendations for which the EANM and other societies cannot be held responsible.

Accessing the influence of 99mTc-Sesta-MIBI-positive thyroid nodules on preoperative localisation studies in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

PURPOSE: Curative treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is parathyroidectomy (PTX) with removal of the hyperfunctioning gland(s). In an endemic goitre region, 35-78% of PHPT patients show concomitant thyroid disease. This study aimed to evaluate if 99mTc-sestamibi (MIBI)-positive thyroid nodules decrease sensitivity in regard to localising the hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland(s) in PHPT patients. METHODS: Within 5 years, 497 consecutive patients with biochemically proven PHPT were included in this study. The data was analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: In total, 198 patients underwent PTX with thyroid surgery and 299 patients underwent sole PTX. Sensitivity of MIBI scan for PTX with and without thyroid surgery was 72.1% and 73.6%, respectively. A statistically significant difference in sensitivity of ultrasound for PTX with and without thyroid surgery (57.0% and 70.9%, respectively) was observed (p = 0.029). Thyroid nodule histology did not have a significant effect on the MIBI scan. Unilateral neck exploration (UNE) was performed in 110 patients and bilateral neck exploration (BNE) in 177 patients. The probability of surgical conversion from UNE to BNE due to incorrect localisation was 1.733 times higher in patients with thyroid nodules. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant benign thyroid nodules did not influence MIBI sensitivity. No correlation between thyroid carcinoma and MIBI uptake was determined. However, MIBI detection of thyroid malignancy is important in patients initially being considered for minimal invasive parathyroidectomy. Sensitivity and positive predictive value of ultrasound were significantly lower in patients with thyroid nodules. The probability of conversion from UNE to BNE due to incorrect localisation was 1.733 times higher in patients with thyroid nodules.

Dynamic [18F]FET-PET/MRI using standard MRI-based attenuation correction methods.

AIM: To assess if tumour grading based on dynamic [18F]FET positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) studies is affected by different MRI-based attenuation correction (AC) methods. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with suspected brain tumours underwent dynamic [18F]FET-PET/MRI examinations and subsequent low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans of the head. The dynamic PET data was reconstructed using the following AC methods: standard Dixon-based AC and ultra-short echo time MRI-based AC (MR-AC) and a model-based AC approach. All data were reconstructed also using CT-based AC (reference). For all lesions and reconstructions, time-activity curves (TACs) and time to peak (TTP) were extracted using different region-of-interest (ROI) and volume-of-interest (VOI) definitions. According to the most common evaluation approaches, TACs were categorised into two or three distinct curve patterns. Changes in TTP and TAC patterns compared to PET using CT-based AC were reported. RESULTS: In the majority of cases, TAC patterns did not change. However, TAC pattern changes as well as changes in TTP were observed in up to 8% and 17% of the cases when using different MR-AC methods and ROI/VOI definitions, respectively. However, these changes in TTP and TAC pattern were attributed to different delineations of the ROIs/VOIs in PET corrected with different AC methods. CONCLUSION: PET/MRI using different MR-AC methods can be used for the assessment of TAC patterns in dynamic [18F]FET studies, as long as a meaningful delineation of the area of interest within the tumour is ensured. KEY POINTS: • PET/MRI using different MR-AC methods can be used for dynamic [18F]FET studies. • A meaningful segmentation of the area of interest needs to be ensured, mandating a visual validation of the delineation by an experienced reader.

The prognostic value of [123I]-vascular endothelial growth factor ([123I]-VEGF) in glioma.

PURPOSE: Recent studies have shown that tumor vascular endothelial cells and various tumor cells overexpress receptors for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of [123I]-VEGF scintigraphy in patients with histologically verified brain tumors. METHODS: 23 consecutive patients (9 women and 14 men aged 30-83 years, mean age 56.6 ± 14.4 years) with histopathologically-verified primary brain tumors were included in the study. All patients had undergone [123I]-VEGF scintigraphy. SPECT examinations of brain were performed 30 min and 18 h after injection. Additional [11C]-methionine PET ([11C]-MET PET) was performed in eight of the 23 patients. Both [123I]-VEGF and [11C]-MET PET were evaluated visually and semiquantitatively by tumor-to-normal brain uptake ratio (T/N ratio). Thresholds of the T/N ratio were evaluated by analysis of receiver operating characteristics (ROC). Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: World Health Organization (WHO) grade IV glioma lesions showed [123I]-VEGF uptake 18 h after the injection, whereas other brain tumors of grade II or III showed negative results. There was no significant difference in the tumor size between VEGF positive and VEGF negative tumors. Patients with [123I]-VEGF T/N ratio threshold <1.32 showed significantly longer survival than patients with T/N ratio ≥ 1.32 (2680 days vs 295 days; P < 0.05). In the subgroup of 16 grade IV glioma patients, significant OS differences were found using a T/N ratio of 1.75 as threshold (T/N ratio < 1.75: 720 days; T/N ≥ 1.75: 183 days; P < 0.05). Significant difference (P < 0.05) was also found in [11C]-MET PET T/N ratios between the grade IV glioma (mean T/N ratio: 3.71) and the grade II or III glioma (mean T/N ratio: 1.74). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that [123I]-VEGF scintigraphy may be useful for visualization of tumor angiogenesis. In addition, [123I]-VEGF may provide relevant prognostic information in patients with glioma.