Study of the diagnostic efficiency of single-photon emission computed tomography with [^99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose in visualization of brain tumors

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose in the detection of brain tumor malignancy. Material and methods. The study included 70 patients diagnosed with grade II–Iv malignant brain tumors and 10 patients with benign brain tumors. The control group consisted of 20 patients who had no pathological changes in the brain at the time of diagnosis. All patients underwent single-photon emission computed tomography of the brain 40 minutes after intravenous injection of [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose at a dose of 500 MBq. The [[99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose radiopharmaceutical was prepared directly in the nuclear medicine department in strict accordance with the instructions. The head and neck of the patient fell into the field of view of the detectors of the gamma camera, 32 projections were recorded in a matrix of 256×256 pixels without hardware magnification. High-resolution low-energy collimators were used. Results. In patients with verified diagnosis of malignant brain tumors, SPECT with [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose correctly visualized tumors in all cases. The tumor was visualized as a zone of increased accumulation of [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose of varying intensity and size. However, benign brain lesions did not show [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose uptake. Physiological accumulation of [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose was observed in soft tissues of the aponeurotic helmet, the choroid of the brain, the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity, and the sinuses of the skull bones. Pathological changes in the brain revealed by SPECT were confirmed by MRI with contrast enhancement. Conclusion. The study demonstrated a high efficiency of SPECT with [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose in visualization of malignant brain tumors. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SPECT with [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose in the imaging of malignant brain tumors were 93–100 %, 65–100 %, 95–100 %, respectively. The data obtained suggest that [99mTc]Tc-1-THIO-D-glucose SPECT as an additional method for the detection of malignant brain tumors can increase access to radionuclides for this group of patients and improve the quality of cancer care.

Keywords

• nuclear medicine imaging
• radiopharmaceuticals
• glucose derivatives
• technetium-99m
• brain tumors