Prospective Comparison of [18F]FDG and [18F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT in the Evaluation of Potentially Resectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Won‐Gun Yun, Joonhyung Gil, Hongyoon Choi, Youngmin Han, Hye‐Sol Jung, Young Jae Cho, Minseok Suh, Wooil Kwon, Yun‐Sang Lee, Gi Jeong Cheon, Jin‐Young Jang
Abstract
Abstract Purpose Accurate clinical staging of potentially resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is critical for establishing optimal treatment strategies. While the efficacy of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose ([ 18 F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in clinical staging is unclear, PET/CT detecting fibroblast-activation protein (FAP) expression has recently received considerable attention for detecting various tumors, including PDAC, with high sensitivity. We explored the efficacy of [ 18 F]FDG and [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT in the initial evaluation of potentially resectable PDAC. Procedures Between 2021 and 2022, twenty participants with newly diagnosed potentially resectable PDAC were enrolled. After the initial evaluation with pancreatic CT, [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT, and [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT, treatment strategies were determined considering the participant’s general status, clinical staging, and resectability. Pathological information from the surgical specimens was only available in 17 participants who underwent curative-intent surgery. Head-to-head comparisons of quantitative radiotracer uptake and diagnostic performance were performed among imaging modalities. Results [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT showed a significantly higher maximum standardized uptake value than [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT did in evaluating primary pancreatic lesions (median [interquartile range]; 12.6 [10.7–13.7] vs. 6.3 [4.8–9.2]; P < 0.001). In contrast, [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT showed a significantly lower mean standardized uptake value than [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT did in evaluating background organ (median [interquartile range]) 0.8 [0.7–0.9] vs. 2.6 [2.3–2.7]; P < 0.001). In addition, the sensitivity of [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT in detecting metastatic lymph nodes was higher than that of [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT (50.0% vs. 0.0%; P = 0.026). Conclusion This study demonstrated that [ 18 F]AIF-FAPI-74 PET/CT could improve the clinical staging of potentially resectable PDAC.