Evaluation of thoracic tumors with (18)F-FMT and (18)F-FDG PET-CT: a clinicopathological study.

L-[3-(18)F]-alpha-methyltyrosine ((18)F-FMT) is an aminoacid tracer for positron emission tomography (PET). The aim of this study was to determine whether PET-CT with (18)F-FMT provides additional information for the preoperative diagnostic workup as compared with (18)F-FDG PET. PET-CT studies with (18)F-FMT and (18)F-FDG were performed as a part of the preoperative workup in 36 patients with histologically confirmed bronchial carcinoma, 6 patients with benign lesions and a patient with atypical carcinoid. Expression of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), CD98, Ki-67 labeling index, VEGF, CD31 and CD34 of the resected tumors were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining, and correlated with the uptake of PET tracers. For the detection of pulmonary malignant tumors, (18)F-FMT PET exhibited a sensitivity of 84% whereas the sensitivity for (18)F-FDG PET was 89% (p = 0.736). (18)F-FMT PET-CT and (18)F-FDG PET-CT agreed with pathological staging in 85 and 68%, respectively (p = 0.151). (18)F-FMT uptake was closely correlated with LAT1, CD98, cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The specificity of (18)F-FMT PET for diagnosing thoracic tumors was higher than that of (18)F-FDG PET. Our results suggest that coexpression of LAT1 and CD98 in addition to cell proliferation and angiogenesis is relavant for the progression and metastasis of lung cancer.