QUANTITATIVE [F-18] FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE POSITRON-EMISSION-TOMOGRAPHY IN PRETREATMENT AND GRADING OF SARCOMA

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between sa rcoma tumor grade and the quantitative tumor metabolism value for [F-1 8]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) determined by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Seventy patients with bone or soft-tissue sarcomas unde rwent PET scanning with quantitative determination of tumor FDG metabo lic rate (MRFDG) before treatment. MRFDG (mu mol/g/min) for each tumor was compared with National Cancer Institute tumor grade, S-phase perc entage, and percentage of aneuploidy of the tumor population. The pret reatment quantitative determination of tumor MRFDG by PET correlates s trongly with tumor grade but not with the other selected histopatholog ical tumor correlates. In addition, overlap of MRFDG PET values with t umor grade suggests that PET, an objective tumor measurement, may prov ide an alternative means of assessing tumor biological potential or ma y have the potential to overcome some of the limitations of traditiona l pathological evaluation. FDG PET can uniquely provide a metabolic pr ofile of a diverse group of sarcomas noninvasively and provide clinica lly relevant tumor biological information.