A reduced physiological 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the brain and liver caused by malignant lymphoma being deprived of the tracer

Purpose : To investigate whether or not the physiological brain and liver FDG uptake are decreased in patients with highly accelerated glycolysis lesions. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with malignant lymphoma. We compared the FDG uptake in the brain and liver of the patients with that in a control group. In 24 patients with a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) to treatment, we compared the brain and liver uptake before and after treatment. Results : The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and total glycolytic volume (TGV) of the brain as well as the SUVmax and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) of the liver in malignant lymphoma patients were 13.1 ± 2.3, 7386.3 ± 1918.4, 3.2 ± 0.5, and 2.3 ± 0.4, respectively ; in the control group, these values were 14.9 ± 2.4, 8566.2 ± 1659.5, 3.4 ± 0.4, and 2.5 ± 0.3, respectively. The SUVmax and TGV of the brain and the SUVmean of the liver in malignant lymphoma patients were significantly lower than the control group. The SUVmax and TGV of the brain after treatment were significantly higher than before treatment. Both the SUVmax and SUVmean of liver after treatment were higher than before treatment, but not significant. Conclusion : A decreased physiological brain and liver FDG uptake is caused by highly accelerated lesion glycolysis.