Correlation of 18F-BPA and 18F-FDG uptake in head and neck cancers

Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the accumulation of 4-borono-2-F-18-fluoro-phenylalanine (F-18-BPA) with that of F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18-FDG) in head and neck cancers, and to assess the usefulness of F-18-FDG PET for screening candidates for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Material and methods: Twenty patients with pathologically proven malignant tumors of the head and neck were recruited from March 2012 to January 2014. All patients underwent both whole-body F-18-BPA PET/CF and F-18-FDG PET/CT within 2 weeks of each other. The uptakes of F-18-BPA and F-18-FDG at 1 h after injection were evaluated using the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Results: The accumulation of F-18-FDG was significantly correlated with that of F-18-BPA. The SUVmax of F-18-FDG >= 5.0 is considered to be suggestive of high F-18-BPA accumulation. Conclusions: F-18-FDG PET might be an effective screening method performed prior to F-18-BPA for selecting patients with head and neck cancer for treatment with BNCT. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.