• Alexander W Sauter, Daniel Spira, Maximilian Schulze, Christina Pfannenberg, Jürgen Hetzel, Matthias Reimold, Ernst Klotz, Claus D Claussen, and Marius S Horger.
• Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Eberhard Karls University, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. alexander.sauter@klinikum.uni-tuebingen.de
• Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imaging. 2013 May 1; 40 (5): 677-84.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate correlations between glucose metabolism as determined by [(18)F]FDG PET/CT and tumour perfusion as quantified by volume perfusion CT in primary tumours and mediastinal lymph nodes (MLN) of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsEnrolled in the study were 17 patients with NSCLC. [(18)F]FDG uptake was quantified in terms of SUVmax and SUVavg. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV) and flow extraction product (K(trans)) were determined as perfusion parameters. The correlations between the perfusion parameters and [(18)F]FDG uptake values were subsequently evaluated.ResultsFor the primary tumours, no correlations were found between perfusion parameters and [(18)F]FDG uptake. In MLN, there were negative correlations between BF and SUVavg (r = -0.383), BV and SUVavg (r = -0.406), and BV and SUVmax (r = -0.377), but not between BF and SUVmax, K(trans) and SUVavg, or K(trans) and SUVmax. Additionally, in MLN with SUVmax >2.5 there were negative correlations between BF and SUVavg (r = -0.510), BV and SUVavg (r = -0.390), BF and SUVmax (r = -0.536), as well as BV and SUVmax (r = -0.346).ConclusionPerfusion and glucose metabolism seemed to be uncoupled in large primary tumours, but an inverse correlation was observed in MLN. This information may help improve therapy planning and response evaluation.

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