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| Application of 11C-Choline PET/CT in radiotherapy planning of brain tumor |
| HUANG Zhe-min, GUAN Yi-hui, ZHAO Jun, ZUO Chuan-tao, HUA Feng-chun |
| PET Center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200235, China |
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Abstract Objective: To investigate the possibility and the methodology of integrating 11C-Choline PET/CT with 3D-CRT/IMRT treatment planning of brain tumors. Methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients presenting with various intracranial tumors before radiotherapy treatment were investigated. Volume delineation was performed on the CT data and PET/CT data separately. GTV and PTV calculated based on CT and PET/CT images were compared using SPSS software. Results: The GTV increased by 25% or more because of PET in 23.53% of cases. The GTV was reduced >25% in 44.12% of patients. Overall, in 67.65%(23/34) of cases, GTV delineation was changed significantly if information from metabolic imaging was used in the planning process. The modification of the GTV translated into altered PTV changes in 58.52%(20/34) of cases. In 3 cases, 11C-Choline PET/CT revealed distant metastasies, changing the treatment strategy from curative to palliative. In 5 cases, no solid evidence of tumor existence was found and their radiotherapy planning was canceled. Conclusion: Integrated 11C-Choline PET/CT for treatment planning for 3D-CRT improves the accuracy of volume delineation compared with that of CT alone. The impact on treatment outcome remains to be demonstrated.
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Received: 11 June 2007
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2007, Vol. 18 
