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Deoxyglucose uptake by a head and neck squamous carcinoma: influence of changes in proliferative fraction
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey, UK. t.smith@icr.ac.uk
Purpose:
Positron emission tomography, using the glucose analogue fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG), is proving to be useful in the early response detection of head and neck tumors. Presently mechanisms underlying changes in FDG uptake after therapy are poorly understood. Response of tumors to therapy is often accompanied by a decrease in tumor cell proliferation. The purpose of this study was to assess whether or not changes in the uptake of deoxyglucose (DG) may reflect differences in proliferative fraction independent of other metabolic changes induced by using therapeutic agents.
Methods And Materials:
HN5 head and neck tumor cells were grown to different cell densities producing populations of cells with different proliferative indices without the need for exogenous agents to manipulate cell-cycle kinetics. (3)H-DG uptake, S-phase fraction (Spf), and lactate production were determined in each population of cells.
Results:
Large differences in Spf between populations of cells were associated with differences in DG incorporation. Lactate production was also found to correlate strongly with DG uptake.
Conclusion:
Therapy-induced changes in FDG uptake by tumors may be partly due to changes in proliferation.
Insights
Changes in deoxyglucose (DG) uptake in head and neck tumors may reflect cell proliferation rates. This finding helps understand how positron emission tomography (PET) detects early treatment response.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG) aids in early head and neck tumor response detection.
- Mechanisms behind altered FDG uptake post-therapy are not fully understood.
- Tumor response to therapy often correlates with reduced cell proliferation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if deoxyglucose (DG) uptake changes reflect tumor proliferative fraction.
- To determine if DG uptake changes are independent of other therapy-induced metabolic alterations.
Main Methods:
- Head and neck tumor cells (HN5) cultured to varying densities to achieve different proliferative indices.
- Quantification of (3)H-DG uptake, S-phase fraction (Spf), and lactate production in cell populations.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in DG incorporation were observed between cell populations with varying Spf.
- DG uptake showed a strong positive correlation with lactate production.
Conclusions:
- Therapy-induced alterations in FDG uptake may be partially attributed to changes in tumor cell proliferation.
- DG uptake serves as a potential indicator of proliferative fraction in head and neck tumors.