TY - JOUR A1 - Buder, Kristina A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Kreissl, Michael C. A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Herrmann, Ken A1 - Schnack, Alexander A1 - Bröcker, Eva-Bettina A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Becker, Jürgen C. T1 - "Somatostatin receptor expression in Merkel cell carcinoma as target for molecular imaging" N2 - Background Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neoplasm with increasing incidence, aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. Somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are expressed in MCC and represent a potential target for both imaging and treatment. Methods To non-invasively assess SSTR expression in MCC using PET and the radiotracers [68Ga]DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (DOTATOC) or -octreotate (DOTATATE) as surrogate for tumor burden. In 24 patients with histologically proven MCC SSTR-PET was performed and compared to results of computed tomography (CT). Results SSTR-PET detected primary and metastatic MCC lesions. On a patient-based analysis, sensitivity of SSTR-PET was 73% for nodal metastases, 100% for bone, and 67% for soft-tissue metastases, respectively. Notably, brain metastases were initially detected by SSTR-PET in 2 patients, whereas liver and lung metastases were diagnosed exclusively by CT. SSTR-PET showed concordance to CT results in 20 out of 24 patients. Four patients (17%) were up-staged due to SSTR-PET and patient management was changed in 3 patients (13%). Conclusion SSTR-PET showed high sensitivity for imaging bone, soft tissue and brain metastases, and particularly in combination with CT had a significant impact on clinical stage and patient management. KW - Merkel cell carcinoma KW - Molecular imaging KW - Somatostatin receptor expression KW - Positron emission tomography Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110326 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, Xiang A1 - Dierks, Alexander A1 - Kertels, Olivia A1 - Kircher, Malte A1 - Schirbel, Andreas A1 - Samnick, Samuel A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Knorz, Sebastian A1 - Böckle, David A1 - Scheller, Lukas A1 - Messerschmidt, Janin A1 - Barakat, Mohammad A1 - Kortüm, K. Martin A1 - Rasche, Leo A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Lapa, Constantin T1 - 18F-FDG, 11C-Methionine, and 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT in patients with smoldering multiple myeloma: imaging pattern and clinical features JF - Cancers N2 - This study aimed to explore the correlation between imaging patterns and clinical features in patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) who simultaneously underwent 18F-FDG, 11C-Methionine, and 68Ga-Pentixafor positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). We retrieved and analyzed clinical characteristics and PET imaging data of 10 patients with SMM. We found a significant correlation between bone marrow (BM) plasma cell (PC) infiltration and mean standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{mean}\)) of lumbar vertebrae L2-L4 on 11C-Methionine PET/CT scans (r = 0.676, p = 0.031) and 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT scans (r = 0.839, p = 0.002). However, there was no significant correlation between BM involvement and SUV\(_{mean}\) of lumbar vertebrae L2-L4 on 18F-FDG PET/CT scans (r = 0.558, p = 0.093). Similarly, mean target-to-background ratios (TBR\(_{mean}\)) of lumbar vertebrae L2-L4 also correlated with bone marrow plasma cell (BMPC) infiltration in 11C-Methionine PET/CT (r = 0.789, p = 0.007) and 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT (r = 0.724, p = 0.018) PET/CT. In contrast, we did not observe a significant correlation between BMPC infiltration rate and TBR\(_{mean}\) in 18F-FDG PET/CT (r = 0.355, p = 0.313). Additionally, on 11C-Methionine PET/CT scans, we found a significant correlation between BMPC infiltration and TBR\(_{max}\) of lumbar vertebrae L2-L4 (r = 0.642, p = 0.045). In conclusion, 11C-Methionine and 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT demonstrate higher sensitivity than 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting BM involvement in SMM. KW - 18F-FDG PET/CT KW - 11C-Methionine PET/CT KW - 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT KW - smoldering myeloma Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-211240 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 12 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Janssen, Jan P. A1 - Hoffmann, Jan V. A1 - Kanno, Takayuki A1 - Nose, Naoko A1 - Grunz, Jan-Peter A1 - Onoguchi, Masahisa A1 - Chen, Xinyu A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro T1 - Capabilities of multi-pinhole SPECT with two stationary detectors for in vivo rat imaging JF - Scientific Reports N2 - We aimed to investigate the image quality of the U-SPECT5/CT E-Class a micro single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system with two large stationary detectors for visualization of rat hearts and bones using clinically available \(^{99m}\)Tc-labelled tracers. Sensitivity, spatial resolution, uniformity and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the small-animal SPECT scanner were investigated in phantom studies using an ultra-high-resolution rat and mouse multi-pinhole collimator (UHR-RM). Point source, hot-rod, and uniform phantoms with \(^{99m}\)Tc-solution were scanned for high-count performance assessment and count levels equal to animal scans, respectively. Reconstruction was performed using the similarity-regulated ordered-subsets expectation maximization (SROSEM) algorithm with Gaussian smoothing. Rats were injected with similar to 100 MBq [\(^{99m}\)TcTc-MIBI or similar to 150 MBq [\(^{99m}\)Tc]Tc-HMDP and received multi-frame micro-SPECT imaging after tracer distribution. Animal scans were reconstructed for three different acquisition times and post-processed with different sized Gaussian filters. Following reconstruction, CNR was calculated and image quality evaluated by three independent readers on a five-point scale from 1="very poor" to 5="very good". Point source sensitivity was 567 cps/MBq and radioactive rods as small as 1.2 mm were resolved with the UHR-RM collimator. Collimator-dependent uniformity was 55.5%. Phantom CNR improved with increasing rod size, filter size and activity concentration. Left ventricle and bone structures were successfully visualized in rat experiments. Image quality was strongly affected by the extent of post-filtering, whereas scan time did not have substantial influence on visual assessment. Good image quality was achieved for resolution range greater than 1.8 mm in bone and 2.8 mm in heart. The recently introduced small animal SPECT system with two stationary detectors and UHR-RM collimator is capable to provide excellent image quality in heart and bone scans in a rat using standardized reconstruction parameters and appropriate post-filtering. However, there are still challenges in achieving maximum system resolution in the sub-millimeter range with in vivo settings under limited injection dose and acquisition time. KW - small animal SPECT KW - HMDP hydroxymethylene diphosphonate KW - skeletal KW - quality KW - scanner Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230616 VL - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rasche, Leo A1 - Kumar, Manoj A1 - Gershner, Grant A1 - Samant, Rohan A1 - Van Hemert, Rudy A1 - Heidemeier, Anke A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Bley, Thorsten A1 - Buck, Andreas A1 - McDonald, James A1 - Hillengass, Jens A1 - Epstein, Joshua A1 - Thanendrarajan, Sharmilan A1 - Schinke, Carolina A1 - van Rhee, Frits A1 - Zangari, Maurizio A1 - Barlogie, Bart A1 - Davies, Faith E. A1 - Morgan, Gareth J. A1 - Weinhold, Niels T1 - Lack of Spleen Signal on Diffusion Weighted MRI is associated with High Tumor Burden and Poor Prognosis in Multiple Myeloma: A Link to Extramedullary Hematopoiesis? JF - Theranostics N2 - Due to the low frequency of abnormalities affecting the spleen, this organ is often overlooked during radiological examinations. Here, we report on the unexpected finding, that the spleen signal on diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) is associated with clinical parameters in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias. Methods: We investigated the spleen signal on DW-MRI together with clinical and molecular parameters in 295 transplant-eligible newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (NDMM) patients and in 72 cases with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Results: Usually, the spleen is the abdominal organ with the highest intensities on DW-MRI. Yet, significant signal loss on DW-MRI images was seen in 71 of 295 (24%) NDMM patients. This phenomenon was associated with the level of bone marrow plasmacytosis (P=1x10(-10)) and International Staging System 3 (P=0.0001) but not with gain(1q), and del(17p) or plasma cell gene signatures. The signal was preserved in 72 individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and generally re-appeared in MM patients responding to treatment, suggesting that lack of signal reflects increased tumor burden. While absence of spleen signal in MM patients with high risk disease defined a subgroup with very poor outcome, re-appearance of the spleen signal after autologous stem cell transplantation was seen in patients with improved outcome. Our preliminary observation suggests that extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen is a factor that modifies the DW-MRI signal of this organ. Conclusions: The DW-MRI spleen signal is a promising marker for tumor load and provides prognostic information in MM. KW - multiple myeloma KW - diffusion weighted mri KW - spleen KW - tumor burden KW - high risk KW - extramedullary hematopoiesis Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224982 VL - 9 IS - 16 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoffmann, Jan V. A1 - Janssen, Jan P. A1 - Kanno, Takayuki A1 - Shibutani, Takayuki A1 - Onoguchi, Masahisa A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Grunz, Jan-Peter A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro T1 - Performance evaluation of fifth-generation ultra-high-resolution SPECT system with two stationary detectors and multi-pinhole imaging JF - EJNMMI Physics N2 - Background Small-animal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems with multi-pinhole collimation and large stationary detectors have advantages compared to systems with moving small detectors. These systems benefit from less labour-intensive maintenance and quality control as fewer prone parts are moving, higher accuracy for focused scans and maintaining high resolution with increased sensitivity due to focused pinholes on the field of view. This study aims to investigate the performance of a novel ultra-high-resolution scanner with two-detector configuration (U-SPECT5-E) and to compare its image quality to a conventional micro-SPECT system with three stationary detectors (U-SPECT\(^+\)). Methods The new U-SPECT5-E with two stationary detectors was used for acquiring data with \(^{99m}\)Tc-filled point source, hot-rod and uniformity phantoms to analyse sensitivity, spatial resolution, uniformity and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Three dedicated multi-pinhole mouse collimators with 75 pinholes each and 0.25-, 0.60- and 1.00-mm pinholes for extra ultra-high resolution (XUHR-M), general-purpose (GP-M) and ultra-high sensitivity (UHS-M) imaging were examined. For CNR analysis, four different activity ranges representing low- and high-count settings were investigated for all three collimators. The experiments for the performance assessment were repeated with the same GP-M collimator in the three-detector U-SPECT\(^+\) for comparison. Results Peak sensitivity was 237 cps/MBq (XUHR-M), 847 cps/MBq (GP-M), 2054 cps/MBq (UHS-M) for U-SPECT5-E and 1710 cps/MBq (GP-M) for U-SPECT\(^+\). In the visually analysed sections of the reconstructed mini Derenzo phantoms, rods as small as 0.35 mm (XUHR-M), 0.50 mm (GP-M) for the two-detector as well as the three-detector SPECT and 0.75 mm (UHS-M) were resolved. Uniformity for maximum resolution recorded 40.7% (XUHR-M), 29.1% (GP-M, U-SPECT5-E), 16.3% (GP-M, U-SPECT\(^+\)) and 23.0% (UHS-M), respectively. UHS-M reached highest CNR values for low-count images; for rods smaller than 0.45 mm, acceptable CNR was only achieved by XUHR-M. GP-M was superior for imaging rods sized from 0.60 to 1.50 mm for intermediate activity concentrations. U-SPECT5-E and U-SPECT+ both provided comparable CNR. Conclusions While uniformity and sensitivity are negatively affected by the absence of a third detector, the investigated U-SPECT5-E system with two stationary detectors delivers excellent spatial resolution and CNR comparable to the performance of an established three-detector-setup. KW - small-animal imaging KW - SPECT KW - mouse KW - ollimator KW - post-reconstruction filtering Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230361 VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steinhardt, Maximilian Johannes A1 - Zhou, Xiang A1 - Krummenast, Franziska A1 - Meckel, Katharina A1 - Nickel, Katharina A1 - Böckle, David A1 - Messerschmidt, Janin A1 - Knorz, Sebastian A1 - Dierks, Alexander A1 - Heidemeier, Anke A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Rasche, Leo A1 - Kortüm, Klaus Martin T1 - Sequential CD38 monoclonal antibody retreatment leads to deep remission in a patient with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma JF - International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology N2 - We report on a currently 76-year-old female patient with relapsed/refractory (RR) multiple myeloma (MM) treated at our institution. This patient had received six lines of therapy including tandem autologous stem cell transplant, proteasome inhibitor, immunomodulatory drugs and CD38 antibody MOR202. At the last relapse, she progressed during treatment with pomalidomide and MOR202. In an individualized therapy concept, we started a multi-agent salvage therapy with pomalidomide, bortezomib, doxorubicin, dexamethasone, and CD38 antibody daratumumab (“Pom-PAD-Dara”), which resulted in a stringent complete remission with minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity after nine cycles. So far, our patient shows a progression free survival of more than 12 months. Our case demonstrates the feasibility of successful CD38 antibody retreatment in a patient with heavily pretreated CD38 antibody resistant MM. KW - CD38 KW - MOR202 KW - daratumumab KW - multiple myeloma KW - refractory KW - relapse Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236235 VL - 34 ER - 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 - Zhou, Xiang A1 - Dierks, Alexander A1 - Kertels, Olivia A1 - Samnick, Samuel A1 - Kircher, Malte A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Haertle, Larissa A1 - Knorz, Sebastian A1 - Böckle, David A1 - Scheller, Lukas A1 - Messerschmidt, Janin A1 - Barakat, Mohammad A1 - Truger, Marietta A1 - Haferlach, Claudia A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Rasche, Leo A1 - Kortüm, K. Martin A1 - Lapa, Constantin T1 - The link between cytogenetics/genomics and imaging patterns of relapse and progression in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a pilot study utilizing 18F-FDG PET/CT JF - Cancers N2 - Utilizing 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), we performed this pilot study to evaluate the link between cytogenetic/genomic markers and imaging patterns in relapsed/refractory (RR) multiple myeloma (MM). We retrospectively analyzed data of 24 patients with RRMM who were treated at our institution between November 2018 and February 2020. At the last relapse/progression, patients had been treated with a median of three (range 1–10) lines of therapy. Six (25%) patients showed FDG avid extramedullary disease without adjacency to bone. We observed significantly higher maximum standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\)) in patients harboring del(17p) compared with those without del(17p) (p = 0.025). Moreover, a high SUV\(_{max}\) of >15 indicated significantly shortened progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.01) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.0002). One female patient exhibited biallelic TP53 alteration, i.e., deletion and mutation, in whom an extremely high SUV\(_{max}\) of 37.88 was observed. In summary, this pilot study suggested a link between del(17p)/TP53 alteration and high SUV\(_{max}\) on 18F-FDG PET/CT in RRMM patients. Further investigations are highly warranted at this point. KW - radiogenomics KW - 18F-FDG PET/CT KW - multiple myeloma KW - relapse KW - progression KW - pattern Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-211157 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 12 IS - 9 ER -