Purpose: To assess the potential added value of FDG-PET/CT radiomics for the characterization of pheochromocytomas (PHEO) and their genetic orientation prior to surgery and genetic testing.
Methods: This retrospective monocentric study, included 49 patients (52 tumors) that underwent both FDG-PET/CT and MIBG scan before surgery. A germline mutation was secondarily identified in 13 patients in one of the genes related to Cluster 1 (n = 4) or Cluster 2 (n = 9). No mutation was identified in 32 patients and 4 did not have genetic testing. Correlation between several PET-based biomarkers, including SUVmax, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and textural features, and biochemical and genetic features were analyzed.
Results: Sensitivity of FDG-PET/CT alone was 92%, and 98% when combined to MIBG. The SUVmax was significantly higher for mutated tumors classified in Cluster 1 than in Cluster 2 (p = 0.002) or for tumors with no identified mutations (p = 0.04). MTV and TLG of the tumors with the most intense uptake discriminated mutated Cluster 2 from sporadic tumors, but not from Cluster 1 tumors. Textural features combined with MTV led to better differentiation between sporadic and mutated tumors (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: FDG-PET/CT is useful for preoperative characterization of PHEO, and when combined with radiomics biomarkers, provides evidences for a genetic predisposition.
Keywords: 18FDG; PET/CT; adrenal gland; germline mutation; paraganglioma; pheochromocytoma; radiomics.