Small-animal PET imaging analysis with [18 F]FHBG in a mouse model of HSV1-tk gene expression in melanoma.

The purpose of this study was to establish a small-animal model for molecular imaging and to acquire basic data on assessing the efficacy of candidate melanoma drugs using small-animal PET imaging analysis with [18 F]FHBG for herpes simplex virus 1-thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk) gene expression in a melanoma mouse model. The B16 melanoma cell line was transduced with a recombinant lentiviral vector containing the HSV1-tk gene and inoculated into the back skin of C57BL/6J mice. [18 F]FHBG PET imaging showed better contrast for HSV1-tk(+) melanomas compared to brain, heart, gall bladder, intestine and kidney than did [18 F]FDG PET imaging.