BONE-MARROW UPTAKE OF FLUORINE-18-FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH HEMATOPOIETIC GROWTH-FACTORS - INITIAL EVALUATION

Hematopoietic growth factors (HGF) such as G-CSF and GM-CSF stimulate cell growth of the bone marrow and thereby mitigate the myelotoxic eff ect of chemotherapy. Using F-18-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positro n emission tomography (PET) for therapy response monitoring of patient s with small-cell lung cancer, both an extension and an intensificatio n of thoracic bone marrow uptake were noted in patients treated with H GF (n = 5) compared to those patients without HGF supplementation (n = 11). FDG uptake was a very sensitive marker of stimulated hematopoies is, and both the extension and the intensification of uptake have to b e noted during HGF therapy.