First Total-Body Kinetic Modeling and Parametric Imaging of Dynamic 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET in Pancreatic and Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) is an ideal diagnostic and therapeutic target in malignant tumors. However, the knowledge of kinetic modeling and parametric imaging of ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI is limited. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the pharmacokinetics of ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT in pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer and to conduct parametric imaging of dynamic total-body data compared with SUV imaging. Methods: Dynamic total-body ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT was performed on 13 patients. The lesion time-activity curves were fitted by 3-compartment models and multigraphical models. The kinetics parameters derived from the 2-tissue reversible compartment model (2T4K) and multigraphical models were analyzed. Parametric [Formula: see text] imaging was generated using the 2T4K and Logan models, and their performances were evaluated compared with SUV images. Results: 2T4K had the lowest Akaike information criterion value, and its fitting curves matched excellently with the origin time-activity curves. Visual assessment revealed that the [Formula: see text](2T4K) images and [Formula: see text](Logan with spatial constraint [SC]) images both showed less image noise and higher lesion conspicuity compared with SUV images. Objective image quality assessment demonstrated that parametric [Formula: see text](2T4K) images and parametric [Formula: see text](Logan with SC) images had a 5.0-fold and 5.0-fold higher average signal-to-noise ratio and 3.6-fold and 4.1-fold higher average contrast-to-noise ratio compared with conventional SUV images, respectively. In addition, no significant differences in signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise of pathologic lesions were observed between parametric [Formula: see text](2T4K) images and parametric [Formula: see text](Logan with SC) images (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: The 2T4K model was the preferred compartment model. Total-body parametric imaging of ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET yielded superior quantification beyond SUV with enhanced lesion contrast, which may serve as a promising imaging method to make an early diagnosis, to better reflect tumor characterization, or to allow evaluation of treatment response. [Formula: see text](2T4K) images are comparable in image quality and consistent to [Formula: see text](Logan with SC) images in lesions conspicuity; however, [Formula: see text](Logan with SC) images presented an appealing alternative to [Formula: see text](2T4K) images because of their simplicity.

Keywords: 68Ga-FAPI-04; kinetic modeling; pancreatic cancer; parametric imaging; total-body dynamic PET imaging.