TY - JOUR A1 - Linz, Christian A1 - Brands, Roman C. A1 - Kertels, Olivia A1 - Dierks, Alexander A1 - Brumberg, Joachim A1 - Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena A1 - Hartmann, Stefan A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Serfling, Sebastian A1 - Zhi, Yingjun A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Kübler, Alexander A1 - Hohm, Julian A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Kircher, Malte T1 - Targeting fibroblast activation protein in newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity – initial experience and comparison to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT and MRI JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging N2 - Purpose While [\(^{18}\)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) is the standard for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), diagnostic specificity is hampered by uptake in inflammatory cells such as neutrophils or macrophages. Recently, molecular imaging probes targeting fibroblast activation protein α (FAP), which is overexpressed in a variety of cancer-associated fibroblasts, have become available and might constitute a feasible alternative to FDG PET/CT. Methods Ten consecutive, treatment-naïve patients (8 males, 2 females; mean age, 62 ± 9 years) with biopsy-proven OSCC underwent both whole-body [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and [\(^{68}\)Ga]FAPI-04 (FAP-directed) PET/CT for primary staging prior to tumor resection and cervical lymph node dissection. Detection of the primary tumor, as well as the presence and number of lymph node and distant metastases was analysed. Intensity of tracer accumulation was assessed by means of maximum (SUV\(_{max}\)) and peak (SUV\(_{peak}\) standardized uptake values. Histological work-up including immunohistochemical staining for FAP served as standard of reference. Results [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and FAP-directed PET/CT detected all primary tumors with a SUVmax of 25.5 ± 13.2 (FDG) and 20.5 ± 6.4 (FAP-directed) and a SUVpeak of 16.1 ± 10.3 ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) and 13.8 ± 3.9 (FAP-directed), respectively. Regarding cervical lymph node metastases, FAP-directed PET/CT demonstrated comparable sensitivity (81.3% vs. 87.5%; P = 0.32) and specificity (93.3% vs. 81.3%; P = 0.16) to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT. FAP expression on the cell surface of cancer-associated fibroblasts in both primary lesions as well as lymph nodes metastases was confirmed in all samples. Conclusion FAP-directed PET/CT in OSCC seems feasible. Future research to investigate its potential to improve patient staging is highly warranted. KW - molecular imaging KW - fibroblast activation protein KW - head and neck cancer KW - PET Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307246 SN - 1619-7070 SN - 1619-7089 VL - 48 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Toyama, Yoshitaka A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Ruiz-Bedoya, Camilo A. A1 - Ordonez, Alvaro A. A1 - Takase, Kei A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Jain, Sanjay K. A1 - Pomper, Martin G. A1 - Rowe, Steven P. A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro T1 - Current and future perspectives on functional molecular imaging in nephro-urology: theranostics on the horizon JF - Theranostics N2 - In recent years, a paradigm shift from single-photon-emitting radionuclide radiotracers toward positron-emission tomography (PET) radiotracers has occurred in nuclear oncology. Although PET-based molecular imaging of the kidneys is still in its infancy, such a trend has emerged in the field of functional renal radionuclide imaging. Potentially allowing for precise and thorough evaluation of renal radiotracer urodynamics, PET radionuclide imaging has numerous advantages including precise anatomical co-registration with CT images and dynamic three-dimensional imaging capability. In addition, relative to scintigraphic approaches, PET can allow for significantly reduced scan time enabling high-throughput in a busy PET practice and further reduces radiation exposure, which may have a clinical impact in pediatric populations. In recent years, multiple renal PET radiotracers labeled with C-11, Ga-68, and F-18 have been utilized in clinical studies. Beyond providing a precise non-invasive read-out of renal function, such radiotracers may also be used to assess renal inflammation. This manuscript will provide an overview of renal molecular PET imaging and will highlight the transformation of conventional scintigraphy of the kidneys toward novel, high-resolution PET imaging for assessing renal function. In addition, future applications will be introduced, e.g. by transferring the concept of molecular image-guided diagnostics and therapy (theranostics) to the field of nephrology. KW - glomerular filtration rate KW - renal KW - kidney KW - renal function KW - positron emission tomography KW - nephrology KW - urology KW - molecular imaging KW - theranostics Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260090 VL - 11 IS - 12 ER -