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[18F]mFBG PET/CT surpasses [18F]FDG PET/CT for evaluation of pediatric neuroblastoma

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose [18F]FDG PET/CT serves as an alternative imaging modality for neuroblastoma in cases where [123I]MIBG yields negative results or is unavailable. [18F]mFBG, a novel PET tracer for neuroblastoma imaging, requires further clinical validation. This preliminary study aims to evaluate the efficacy of [18F]mFBG PET/CT compared to [18F]FDG PET/CT in detecting neuroblastoma. Methods In this retrospective investigation, 56 pediatric patients were enrolled. Each patient underwent both [18F]mFBG PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT within one week. Two children underwent a second paired [18F]FDG-[18F]mFBG PET/CT scan. In total, 58 paired scans (mean age 47.6 ± 38.0 months, range 6–108 months) were performed. Two experienced readers measured normal organ uptake (SUVmean), lesion uptake (SUVmax), and tumor-to-background ratio (TBR). A lesion-by-lesion analysis was conducted to compare detection rates between [18F]mFBG and [18F]FDG. Results Twenty paired scans exhibited negative findings on both [18F]mFBG and [18F]FDG studies. Among the remaining 38 scans, 8 (21.05%) were [18F]mFBG-positive/[18F]FDG-negative, 1 (2.63%) was [18F]FDG-positive/[18F]mFBG-negative, and 29 (76.32%) were positive on both tracers. In these 38 scans, [18F]mFBG PET/CT identified 431 lesions, whereas [18F]FDG PET/CT detected only 162 lesions (p<0.001). Six of eight [18F]mFBG-positive/[18F]FDG-negative cases were histopathologically confirmed as neuroblastoma. The mean TBR of [18F]mFBG PET/CT(6.68 ± 5.76) was significantly higher (p<0.001) than that of [18F]FDG PET/CT (4.49 ± 2.88). Conclusion [18F]mFBG PET/CT detected more neuroblastoma lesions than [18F]FDG PET/CT, suggesting it may be a more viable alternative when standard [123I]MIBG scanning is not feasible.

Source: Frontiers in Oncology

DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1627403