Assessment of atherosclerosis in oncologic patients using ¹⁸F-fluoride PET/CT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, distribution, and relationship of (18)F-fluoride uptake and arterial calcification in oncologic patients using (18)F-fluoride PET/CT.

Image data obtained from 29 oncologic patients undergoing whole-body (18)F-fluoride PET/CT were evaluated retrospectively. Arterial wall (18)F-fluoride uptake and calcification were analyzed both quantitatively and semiquantitatively in 8 patients with arterial (18)F-fluoride uptake.

Arterial (18)F-fluoride uptake was observed at 35 lesions in 8 (28 %) of the 29 patients, and calcification was observed at 345 lesions in the same patients. Five of the 8 patients had prostate cancer, and the remaining patients had hepatocellular carcinoma or malignant melanoma. In these 8 patients, the prevalence of both (18)F-fluoride uptake and calcification was highest in the abdominal aorta, followed by the descending thoracic aorta and the aortic arch. Colocalization of radiotracer accumulation and calcification could be observed in the 32 lesions (91 %) with arterial (18)F-fluoride uptake, and only the 3 lesions (9 %) with arterial (18)F-fluoride uptake were not colocalized with arterial calcification. The presence of both arterial radiotracer uptake and calcification was significantly associated with advancing age (P < 0.01).

Our results suggest that (18)F-fluoride PET/CT might be a useful modality for detecting active mineral deposition sites of atherosclerosis in oncologic patients.