Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026

A Practical Guide for the Production and PET/CT Imaging of 68Ga-DOTATATE for Neuroendocrine Tumors in Daily Clinical Practice
Published on: April 17, 2019
Early and delayed evaluation of solid tumours with 64Cu-ATSM PET/CT: a pilot study on semiquantitative and
Egesta Lopci1, Fabio Grizzi, Carlo Russo
1aResearch Doctorate Course in Specialized Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna bPET Unit cDivision of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna dDepartment of Nuclear Medicine eDepartment of Inflammation and Immunology fDepartment of Medical Oncology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, Rozzano gMichele Rodriguez Foundation, Milan, Italy.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyse early and delayed acquisition on copper-64 diacetyl-bisN4-methylthiosemicarbazone (Cu-ATSM) PET/CT in a small cohort of patients by comparing semiquantitative and computer-aided fractal geometry analyses.
Patients And Methods:
Five cancer patients, including non-small-cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer, were investigated with Cu-ATSM PET/CT. Participants received an intravenous injection of Cu-ATSM according to body size and were imaged 60 min (early) and 16 h (delayed) later on hybrid PET/CT. Reconstructed images were visualized on advanced workstations for the definition of semiquantitative parameters: standardized uptake value (SUV)max, SUVratio-to-muscle, SUVmean, hypoxic volume (HV) and hypoxic burden (HB=HV×SUVmean). DICOM data retrieved from both scans were analysed using an ad-hoc computer program to determine the mean intensity value, SD, relative dispersion, three-dimensional histogram fractal dimension and three-dimensional fractal dimension.
Results:
All tumour lesions showed increased uptake of Cu-ATSM at early evaluation, with a median SUVratio-to-muscle of 4.42 (range: 1.58-5.62), a median SUVmax of 5.3 (range: 1.9-7.3), a median SUVmean of 2.8 (range: 1.5-3.9), a median HV of 41.6 cm (range: 2.8-453.7) and a median HB of 161.5 cm (range: 4.4-1112.5). All semiquantitative data obtained at 1 h were consistent with the parameters obtained on delayed imaging (P>0.05). A borderline statistically significant difference was found only for SUVmax of the muscle (P=0.045). Fractal geometry analysis on DICOM images showed that all parameters at early imaging showed no statistically significant difference with late acquisition (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Our findings support the consistency of Cu-ATSM PET/CT images obtained at early and delayed acquisition for the assessment of tumour lesions.
More Related Videos
10:47Harnessing the Bioorthogonal Inverse Electron Demand Diels-Alder Cycloaddition for Pretargeted PET Imaging
Published on: February 3, 2015
09:55Radiosynthesis, Quality Control, and Small Animal Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of 68Ga-Labelled Nano Molecules
Published on: October 4, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Studies II: Positron Emission Tomography and Scintigraphy
Fundamental Principles of PET
Positron Emission Tomography
One of the main requirements of a PET scan is a positron-emitting radioisotope, which is produced in a cyclotron and then attached to a substance used by the part of the body...
Radiological Investigation III: Pulmonary Angiogram and PET Scan
Pulmonary Angiogram
A Pulmonary Angiogram is an invasive procedure involving injecting a contrast medium through a catheter threaded into the pulmonary artery or the right side of the heart to visualize the pulmonary vasculature. Computed Tomography (CT) scans have mainly replaced this...