11C-acetate PET/CT for metabolic characterization of multiple myeloma: a comparative study with 18F-FDG PET/CT.

UNLABELLED

We prospectively compared (11)C-acetate with (18)F-FDG in a PET/CT evaluation of multiple myeloma (MM), specifically on diagnostic accuracy, identification of high-risk patients, and monitoring of treatment response.

METHODS

Dual-tracer PET/CT was performed on 35 pathologically and clinically confirmed and untreated patients (26 with symptomatic MM, 5 with smoldering MM, and 4 with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance) and 20 individuals with normal marrow.

RESULTS

(11)C-acetate showed significant incremental value over (18)F-FDG (84.6% vs. 57.7%) for positively identifying patients with diffuse and focal symptomatic MM, and was negative in patients with indolent smoldering MM and monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance. Three functional parameters-number of (11)C-acetate-avid and (18)F-FDG-avid focal bone lesions and (11)C-acetate general marrow activity-strongly correlated with β-2-microglobulin as surrogate imaging markers of tumor burden. After induction chemotherapy, the metabolic change in (11)C-acetate general marrow activity correlated with clinical response.

CONCLUSION

Metabolic characterization of MM in diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment monitoring can be done more accurately by assessing lipid metabolism with (11)C-acetate than by assessing glucose metabolism with (18)F-FDG.