PET Findings of Intramedullary Tumors of the Spinal Cord Using [¹⁸F] FDG and [¹¹C] Methionine

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Only a few reports on intramedullary tumors of the spinal cord using PET have been published. We report findings of PET by using [¹⁸F] fluorodeoxyglucose and [¹¹C] methionine and discuss the usefulness of the findings in patients with intramedullary tumors of the spinal cord.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: PET/CT was performed in 9 patients with intramedullary tumors of the spinal cord: Six had ependymomas, 1 had an anaplastic astrocytoma, 1 had a hemangioblastoma, and 1 had a cavernous angioma. The maximum standardized uptake value of the tumor was measured and compared with pathologic findings.

RESULTS: The SUVmax of FDG and MET in a case of anaplastic astrocytoma was high. The SUVmax of FDG and MET was relatively high in 4 of 6 cases of ependymoma (excluding myxopapillary ependymomas). A case of hemangioblastoma showed decreased uptake of both FDG and MET (SUVmax = 2.0 and 1.4, respectively). Three cases with hemorrhage (1 case of ependymoma, 1 case of cellular ependymoma, and 1 case of cavernous angioma) showed a relatively increased uptake of FDG.

CONCLUSIONS: Both FDG and MET accumulated to a large degree in an anaplastic astrocytoma and accumulated in ependymomas (excluding a myxopapillary ependymoma). FDG can accumulate in tumors with hemorrhage. More investigation of a larger number of patients is required to evaluate the diagnostic value of PET with FDG and MET for imaging intramedullary tumors of the spinal cord.