Imaging of primary Ewing sarcoma with 13N-L-glutamate

Eleven patients with untreated primary Ewing sarcoma were studied with intravenously administered 13N-labeled L-glutamate. Seven were repeatedly scanned during chemotherapy using this agent and 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP). The untreated primary tumor was distinctly visualized with 13N-L-glutamate in all cases; the distribution of 13N label in the tumor sometimes differed from that of 99mTc. A kinetic study showed rapid uptake of 13N by tumor tissue. Repeat scans following therapy indicated that 13N-L-glutamate and 99mTc-MDP uptake showed changes consistent with histological findings following subsequent surgery. 13N uptake often decreased more markedly than 99mTc uptake during chemotherapy, but metastatic lesions were not visualized with 13N-L-glutamate. Tumor imaging with this labeled amino acid may be of value in assessing the response of primary Ewing sarcoma to chemotherapy.