Purpose: Our aims were to assess the feasibility of imaging hypoxia in cervical carcinoma with (18)F-fluoroerythronitroimidazole ((18)F-FETNIM) and to compare (18)F-FETNIM uptake with metabolic uptake of (18)F-FDG.
Patients and methods: We included 16 patients with cervical carcinoma. After imaging with FDG, (18)F-FETNIM PET/CT was performed and tumor-to-muscle (T/M) ratio uptake was assessed. (18)F- FETNIM uptake was correlated to FDG uptake and osteopontin (OPN), a marker of hypoxia, and patients' outcomes.
Results: All tumors were detected by (18)F-FDG PET. (18)F-FETNIM T/M ratios ranged from 1.3 to 5.4. There was no significant correlation between (18)F-FETNIM and (18)F-FDG uptake. High (18)F-FETNIM uptake (T/M > 3.2) was associated with reduced progression-free survival (log-rank = 0.002) and overall survival (log-rank = 0.02). Osteopontin ranged from 39 to 662 μg/L (median, 102.5 μg/L). Patients with OPN greater than 144 μg/L had reduced progression-free survival compared with those with OPN less than 144 μg/L (log-rank = 0.03). We found no significant correlation between (18)F-FETNIM uptake and OPN blood levels.
Conclusions: Our preliminary results showed that a high uptake of (18)F-FETNIM was associated with a worse progression-free and overall survival.