FAPI-PET predicts concurrent chemoradiotherapy response in esophageal cancer patients: Study

China: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with a fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) radiotracer may predict if esophageal cancer patients will respond to chemotherapy, a recent study in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine has stated.
The study found that a higher baseline TBRblood on 18F-FAPI-04 PET/CT scans was linked with poor response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-ESCC) and thus, TBRblood could be helpful to improve treatment planning.
The prospective study by Xinying Hu, Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China, and colleagues was conducted to determine whether imaging results obtained through the tracer [18F] AlF-NOTA FAPI-04 (denoted as 18F-FAPI-04) in PET/CT can predict short-term outcomes in LA-ESCC patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
The study enrolled 18 LA-ESCC patients who underwent 18F-FAPI-04 PET/CT scanning before CCRT. The following parameters were recorded: - metabolic tumor volume, the maximum, mean, and peak standard uptake values (SUVmax, SUVmean, and SUVpeak), and total lesion FAP expression. Additionally, measuring SUVmean of normal tissue (muscle and blood) and SUVmax of the primary tumor was done, and their ratios were represented as target-to-background ratios (TBRmuscle and TBRblood). Patients were categorized per the RECIST criteria as responders or non-responders, and SUVs were compared between the two groups.
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