ORIGINAL ARTICLES 

The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2002 December;46(4):336-45

Copyright © 2009 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Investigation of brain tumours with 99mTc- MIBI SPET

Baldari S. ¹, Restifo Pecorella G. ¹, Cosentino S. ¹, Minutoli F. ²

¹ Nuclear Medicine Division Department of Radiological Sciences, University Hospital “G. Martino”, Messina, Italy 2 Department of Radiological Sciences University Hospital “G. Martino”, Messina, Italy

The aim of ­this ­paper is to ­give the ­reader an ­updated over­view of 99mTc-MIBI ­SPET appli­ca­tions in inves­ti­gating ­brain ­tumours. Ele­ments deter­mining ­MIBI ­uptake at the ­level of the ­brain are ­first men­tioned. 99mTc-MIBI ­SPET fea­tures in dif­ferent ­malignant and ­benign ­brain ­lesions (low and ­high ­grade gli­omas, gli­o­blas­toma mul­ti­forme, metas­tasis, lym­phoma, menin­gioma, neu­roma, radi­a­tion ­necrosis and ­other ­rarer ­brain ­lesions) are ­reviewed. The ­ability of 99mTc-MIBI ­SPET, ­alone or in com­bi­na­tion ­with ­other radio­tracers, in the dif­fe­ren­tial diag­nosis of ­brain ­lesions is dis­cussed. We out­line 99mTc-MIBI ­SPET ­value in deter­mining ­brain ­tumours ­grading and in dis­tin­guishing ­tumour recur­rence ­from radi­a­tion ­necrosis. Clin­ical appli­ca­tions of 99mTc-MIBI in the man­age­ment of ­AIDS ­patients, ­where dis­crim­i­na­tion ­between lym­phoma and sev­eral dif­ferent ­lesions ­only on the ­basis of CT or MRI find­ings is ­often impos­sible, are ­reported. In addi­tion the rela­tion­ships ­among 99mTc-MIBI ­SPET, P-gly­co­pro­tein (MDR-1 ­gene ­product) expres­sion in ­brain neo­plasms and chem­o­therapy ­response are men­tioned.