Standardized Uptake Value from Semiquantitative Bone Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography in Normal Thoracic and Lumbar Vertebrae of Breast Cancer Patients

摘要

Study Design Retrospective study. Purpose This study aims to semiquantitatively evaluate the standardized uptake value (SUV) of 99m Tc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) radionuclide tracer in the normal vertebrae of breast cancer patients using an integrated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) scanner. Overview of Literature Molecular imaging techniques using gamma cameras and stand-alone SPECT have traditionally been utilized to evaluate metastatic bone diseases. However, these methods lack quantitative analysis capabilities, impeding accurate uptake characterization. Methods A total of 30 randomly selected female breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. The SUV mean (SUV mean ) and SUV maximum (SUV max ) values for 286 normal vertebrae at the thoracic and lumbar levels were calculated based on the patients’ body weight (BW), body surface area (BSA), and lean body mass (LBM). Additionally, 106 degenerative joint disease (DJD) lesions of the spine were also characterized, and both their BW SUV mean and SUV max values were obtained. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was then performed to determine the cutoff value of SUV for differentiating DJD from normal vertebrae. Results The mean±standard deviations for the SUV mean and SUV max in the normal vertebrae displayed a relatively wide variability: 3.92±0.27 and 6.51±0.72 for BW, 1.05±0.07 and 1.75±0.17 for BSA, and 2.70±0.19 and 4.50±0.44 for LBM, respectively. Generally, the SUV mean had a lower coefficient of variation than the SUV max . For DJD, the mean±standard deviation for the BW SUV mean and SUV max was 5.26±3.24 and 7.50±4.34, respectively. Based on the ROC curve, no optimal cutoff value was found to differentiate DJD from normal vertebrae. Conclusions In this study, the SUV of 99m Tc-MDP was successfully determined using SPECT/CT. This research provides an approach that could potentially aid in the clinical quantification of radionuclide uptake in normal vertebrae for the management of breast cancer patients.