Performance of [¹⁸F]fluorocholine PET/CT in MEN1-related primary hyperparathyroidism before initial surgery or for...

The aims of the study were to evaluate the performance and robustness of [¹⁸F]fluorocholine PET/CT in detecting hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands in MEN1-related primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) at different stages of their disease.

Retrospective French multicenter study including patients with MEN1 pHPT who underwent [¹⁸F]fluorocholine PET/CT at initial diagnosis or for evaluation of persistent/recurrent disease. PET/CT were independently reviewed by two readers in a blinded manner. The assessment of PET/CT on a per-patient basis was assessed using a comprehensive set of criteria that considered pathological findings or agreement with alternative diagnostic methods in non-operated patients. The secondary objectives included the analysis of the performance of PET/CT at a per-lesion level, with reference to a pathological Gold Standard, and examining its interobserver reproducibility.

A total of 71 MEN1 patients were included (73 PET/CT) in the study. At the per-patient level (entire cohort), [¹⁸F]fluorocholine PET/CT sensitivity ranged from 98.5 to 100% among the different readers. An average of 1.77 glands per PET was described, with 2.35 glands at the initial diagnosis (n = 23) and 1.5 in previously operated cases (n = 50). PET/CT detected more lesions than conventional imaging work-up (neck ultrasound and/or scintigraphy). At the per-lesion level (41 operated patients), sensitivity ranged across different readers from 84.4 to 87%, and specificity ranged from 94.7 to 98.8%. At initial diagnosis, all patients that exhibited 3 or more abnormal glands on PET underwent subtotal parathyroidectomy while 7 out of 13 patients with 1 or 2 gland abnormalities on PET underwent less than subtotal parathyroidectomy. Finally, the degree of inter-observer agreement was high.

[¹⁸F]fluorocholine PET/CT is a reliable and robust imaging modality for the evaluation of MEN1-related pHPT and could guide surgeons in achieving the optimal benefit-risk ratio. This study gives a great impetus for its adoption as a primary diagnostic tool in this context.