RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study the biodistribution of L-[S-methyl-(11)C]-methioine ((11)C-MET) and explore its clinical application in positron emission tomography (PET) for brain tumor detection. METHODS: Twenty-four Wistar rats and divided into 6 equal groups and injected with (11)C-MET through the tail vein and killed by decollation at 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 min after injection, respectively. The liver, brain, blood, heart, lung, kidney, and spleen were harvested to measure the radioactivity and calculate the biodistribution of (11)C-MET. PET imaging with (11)C-MET was performed in 6 normal volunteers and 30 patients with pathologically confirmed brain gliomas. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (11)C-MET showed high blood uptake and a long retention in the tumor mass, therefore can be a valuable tracer for PET imaging of brain tumor and the hypophysis.