¹³N-NH₃ PET/CT in oncological disease

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Oncology
• Radiology

Background:

• 13N-Ammonia (13N-NH3) is a PET/CT radiotracer primarily used for myocardial perfusion imaging.
• Its role in diagnosing oncological diseases remains largely unestablished.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 13N-Ammonia PET/CT in oncology.
• To assess its utility in differentiating various tumor types and grades.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases was performed.
• Eighteen articles published up to June 2019 were included in the review.

Main Results:

• 13N-Ammonia PET/CT effectively distinguishes gliomas from non-neoplastic brain lesions and differentiates high-grade from low-grade gliomas.
• It demonstrates superior diagnostic performance compared to 18F-FDG PET in glioma evaluation.
• Combining 13N-Ammonia PET/CT with 18F-FDG PET aids in differentiating various cerebral lesions.
• Preliminary findings suggest potential benefits in liver and prostate cancer detection.

Conclusions:

• 13N-Ammonia PET/CT shows significant diagnostic value in neuro-oncology.
• Further research is warranted to explore its full potential in other cancer types like liver and prostate cancer.