Fluorodeoxyglucose PET for Monitoring Response to Embolotherapy (Transarterial Chemoembolization) in Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors

PET Clin. 2019 Oct;14(4):437-445. doi: 10.1016/j.cpet.2019.06.008. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

Abstract

Response to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with liver cancer is commonly assessed on MRI or CT to quantify tumor necrosis and morphologic changes that occur gradually. However, the efficacy of embolotherapies remains limited because of local recurrence, as treated tumors demonstrate individual molecular characteristics that alter susceptibility and response to embolotherapies. Upregulation of cancer cell glycolysis can be detected by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET. Therefore, the combination of functional (PET) with commonly used cross-sectional imaging techniques (MRI, CT) can help characterize and monitor liver tumors with the potential to improve TACE toward becoming a more personalized and tumor microenvironment-directed therapy.

Keywords: (18)F-FDG; HCC; ICC; Locoregional therapy; NET; PET; TACE; mCRC.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / diagnostic imaging
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / mortality
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / therapy
  • Chemoembolization, Therapeutic / methods*
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
  • Humans
  • Infusions, Intra-Arterial / methods
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Liver Neoplasms / mortality
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / methods
  • Multimodal Imaging / methods
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / methods*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Survival Analysis
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects*

Substances

  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18