PET/MRI detects brain injury in pediatric cancer survivors

PET/MRI could be a tool for diagnosing brain injury in young cancer survivors due to high-dose methotrexate treatment, according to pediatric radiologists at Stanford University in Stanford, CA. In a pilot study in 10 children and young adults, F-18 FDG-PET/MRI detected brain injury based on reductions in glucose metabolism and blood flow in specific brain areas. The imaging findings could facilitate earlier treatments in these patients, noted lead author Lucia Baratto, MD, and colleagues. “Using F-18 FDG-PET/MRI for assessing the cerebral impact of methotrexate therapy in pediatric cancer survivors holds the potential to expedite interventions with antiinflammatory remedies and enable effective monitoring of treatment outcomes,” the group wrote. The study was published April 4 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The five-year overall survival rate of children for all cancers is currently 80% and continues to rise with significant improvements in treatments, the authors explained. However, this has resulted in a growing population of childhood cancer survivors who may face long-term adverse outcomes, they added. For instance, methotrexate – an antimetabolite agent used routinely to treat various childhood cancers – has been shown in recent studies to activate microglia cells (immune system cells) in the brain, which can lead over time to damaging inflammation, according to the authors. Hence, the researchers aimed to diagnose such high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX)-i...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news