Carbon-11-Methionine PET Evaluation of Intracerebral Hematoma: Distinguishing Neoplastic from Non-Neoplastic Hematoma

• Published in: The Journal of nuclear medicine (1978) Vol. 36; no. 12; pp. 2175 - 2179
• Main Authors: Ogawa, Toshihide, Hatazawa, Jun, Inugami, Atsushi, Murakami, Matsutaro, Fujita, Hideaki, Shimosegawa, Eku, Noguchi, Kyo, Okudera, Toshio, Kanno, Iwao, Uemura, Kazuo, Hadeishi, Hiromu, Sasajima, Toshio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA Soc Nuclear Med 01.12.1995; Society of Nuclear Medicine
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Neoplasms - complications; Brain Neoplasms - diagnosis; Carbon Radioisotopes; Cerebral Hemorrhage - diagnosis; Cerebral Hemorrhage - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Hemorrhage - etiology; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Glioblastoma - complications; Glioblastoma - diagnosis; Hematoma - diagnosis; Hematoma - diagnostic imaging; Hematoma - etiology; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Methionine; Middle Aged; Nervous system; Radionuclide investigations; Time Factors; Tomography, Emission-Computed; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Radionuclide study; Human; Intracranial; Nervous system diseases; Exploration; Malignant tumor; Differential diagnostic; Cerebral disorder; Central nervous system disease; Hematoma; Technique; Cerebrovascular disease; Positron; Emission tomography
• ISSN: 0161-5505; 1535-5667

We evaluated whether PET with L-methyl-11C-methionine (11C-methionine) was clinically useful in distinguishing neoplastic from non-neoplastic intracerebral hematoma. We examined eight patients with neoplastic (n = 4) or non-neoplastic (n = 4) intracerebral hematomas between 5 and 68 days after the bleeding episode using PET with 11C-methionine (Met-PET). Carbon-11-methionine accumulated in the area surrounding the hematoma in both groups, except in one patient with an acute hypertensive hematoma. Between 22 and 45 days after the ictus, non-neoplastic hematomas showed increased 11C-methionine accumulation largely in accordance with the contrast-enhanced areas on CT or MR images; whereas between 14 and 68 days after bleeding, neoplastic hematomas showed increased 11C-methionine accumulation that extended beyond the contrast-enhanced areas on CT or MR images. The intensity of 11C-methionine accumulation in tumor tissue was greater than that in non-neoplastic hematomas. Preliminary results suggest that Met-PET can distinguish neoplastic from non-neoplastic hematomas on the basis of differences in lesion extent compared with CT or MR findings.