Low-Grade Versus High-Grade Glioma… That Is the Question. 18F-Fluorocholine PET in the Detection of Anaplastic Focus

Clin Nucl Med. 2020 May;45(5):394-397. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000003006.

Abstract

Gliomas are characterized by intratumoral histological heterogeneity, coexisting foci of low and high grade. First, in low-grade gliomas, neoangiogenesis has not yet developed and cellularity is low, so alterations on perfusion MRI may not be present. Second, a non-negligible number of high-grade gliomas show none, patchy, or weak contrast enhancement on MRI, so they can be misdiagnosed as low-grade glioma, preventing their correct management. We present 4 cases of patients in which F-fluorocholine PET defined the anaplastic tumor component and therefore the tumor aggressiveness, solving the limitations of MRI.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Choline / analogs & derivatives*
  • Glioma / diagnostic imaging*
  • Glioma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Neoplasm Grading
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*

Substances

  • fluorocholine
  • Choline