[18F]FLT-PET in oncology: current status and opportunities

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging Vol. 31; no. 12; pp. 1659 - 1672
• Main Authors: Been, Lukas B, Suurmeijer, Albert J H, Cobben, David C P, Jager, Pieter L, Hoekstra, Harald J, Elsinga, Philip H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Springer Nature B.V 01.12.2004
• Subjects: Animals; Dideoxynucleosides; Humans; Neoplasm Invasiveness - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasm Staging - methods; Neoplasm Staging - trends; Neoplasms - classification; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - pathology; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Positron-Emission Tomography - trends; Radiopharmaceuticals; Severity of Illness Index
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-004-1687-6

In recent years, [18F]-fluoro-3'-deoxy-3'-L: -fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT) has been developed as a proliferation tracer. Imaging and measurement of proliferation with PET could provide us with a non-invasive staging tool and a tool to monitor the response to anticancer treatment. In this review, the basis of [18F]FLT as a proliferation tracer is discussed. Furthermore, an overview of the current status of [18F]FLT-PET research is given. The results of this research show that although [18F]FLT is a tracer that visualises cellular proliferation, it also has certain limitations. In comparison with the most widely used PET tracer, [18F]FDG, [18F]FLT uptake is lower in most cases. Furthermore, [18F]FLT uptake does not always reflect the tumour cell proliferation rate, for example during or shortly after certain chemotherapy regimens. The opportunities provided by, and the limitations of, [18F]FLT as a proliferation tracer are addressed in this review, and directions are given for further research, taking into account the strong and weak points of the new tracer.