18F-FLT and 18F-FDG PET-CT imaging in the evaluation of early therapeutic effects of chemotherapy on Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats.

The present study aimed to evaluate the early therapeutic effects of chemotherapy on Walker 256 tumor-bearing Wistar rats via F-18-fluoro-3'-deoxy-3'-L-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) and F-18-fluoro-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging. Walker 256 tumor-bearing Wistar rats were subjected to 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG PET-CT imaging prior to and 24 and 48 h after epirubicin chemotherapy. 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG uptake [tumor/muscle (T/M)], the percentage of injected dose per gram (% ID/g), and the Ki-67 labeling index (LI-Ki-67) were quantitatively determined for each rat prior to and following epirubicin chemotherapy. The correlation between % ID/g and tumor LI-Ki-67 was analyzed. Both 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG tumor uptake decreased significantly at 24 and 48 h after chemotherapy (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). LI-Ki-67 also significantly reduced 24 and 48 h after chemotherapy (P<0.001). Furthermore, 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG T/M tumor uptake correlated positively with LI-Ki-67 before and after chemotherapy (r=0.842 and 0.813, respectively). During the early post-chemotherapy stage, 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG uptake in Walker 256 tumors reduced significantly, which correlated positively with the tumor cell proliferative activity.