Comparison of MRI, F-18 FDG, and 11C-choline PET/CT for their potentials in differentiating brain tumor recurrence from brain tumor necrosis following radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE To compare potentials of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), F-18 FDG, and 11C-Choline PET/CT in differentiating brain tumor recurrence from necrosis after radiotherapy. METHODS Fifty-five patients with suspected brain tumor recurrence or necrosis after radiotherapy underwent MRI, F-18 FDG, and 11C-choline PET/CT examinations, and all the patients were followed up for at least 11 months. Lesion diagnoses based on medical imaging were compared with pathology or follow-up outcomes. RESULTS The sensitivities of MRI, F-18 FDG PET/CT, and 11C-Choline PET/CT in lesion diagnosis were 87.2%, 76.9%, and 92.3%, respectively, and their specificities were 81.3%, 62.5%, and 87.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION The results suggest that 11C-Choline PET/CT with higher sensitivity and specificity may be better in distinguishing recurrent brain tumor from radionecrosis compared with F-18 FDG PET/CT and MRI.