Diagnostic Accuracy of 68 Ga-FAPI Versus 18 F-FDG PET in Patients with Various Malignancies

• Published in: Journal of Nuclear Medicine Vol. 65; no. 3; pp. 372 - 378
• Main Authors: Hirmas, Nader, Hamacher, Rainer, Sraieb, Miriam, Kessler, Lukas, Pabst, Kim M, Barbato, Francesco, Lanzafame, Helena, Kasper, Stefan, Nader, Michael, Kesch, Claudia, von Tresckow, Bastian, Hautzel, Hubertus, Aigner, Clemens, Glas, Martin, Stuschke, Martin, Kümmel, Sherko, Harter, Philipp, Lugnier, Celine, Uhl, Waldemar, Hadaschik, Boris, Grünwald, Viktor, Siveke, Jens T, Herrmann, Ken, Fendler, Wolfgang P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2024
• Subjects: FDG; accuracy; FAPI; theranostic; PET; oncology
• ISSN: 0161-5505; 1535-5667; 2159-662X
• DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.123.266652

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of Ga-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) and F-labeled FDG PET for the detection of various tumors, we performed a head-to-head comparison of both imaging modalities across a range of tumor entities as part of our ongoing Ga-FAPI PET observational trial. The study included 115 patients with 8 tumor entities who received imaging with Ga-FAPI for tumor staging or restaging between October 2018 and March 2022. Of those, 103 patients received concomitant imaging with Ga-FAPI and F-FDG PET and had adequate lesion validation for accuracy analysis. Each scan was evaluated for the detection of primary tumor, lymph nodes, and visceral and bone metastases. True or false positivity and negativity to detected lesions was assigned on the basis of histopathology from biopsies or surgical excision, as well as imaging validation. Ga-FAPI PET revealed higher accuracy than F-FDG PET in the detection of colorectal cancer ( = 14; per-patient, 85.7% vs. 78.6%; per-region, 95.6% vs. 91.1%) and prostate cancer ( = 22; per-patient, 100% vs. 90.9%; per-region, 96.4% vs. 92.7%). Ga-FAPI PET and F-FDG PET had comparable per-patient accuracy in detecting breast cancer ( = 16, 100% for both) and head and neck cancers ( = 10, 90% for both modalities). Ga-FAPI PET had lower per-patient accuracy than F-FDG PET in cancers of the bladder ( = 12, 75% vs. 100%) and kidney ( = 10, 80% vs. 90%), as well as lymphoma ( = 9, 88.9% vs. 100%) and myeloma ( = 10, 80% vs. 90%). Ga-FAPI PET demonstrated higher diagnostic accuracy than F-FDG PET in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and prostate cancer, as well as comparable diagnostic performance for cancers of the breast and head and neck. Accuracy and impact on management will be further assessed in an ongoing prospective interventional trial (NCT05160051).