Case Report
Copyright ©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2007; 13(15): 2261-2262
Published online Apr 21, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i15.2261
Early detection of response to imatinib therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumor by using 18F-FDG-positron emission tomography and computed tomography imaging
Sabri Zincirkeser, Alper Sevinc, M Emin Kalender, Celalettin Camci
Sabri Zincirkeser, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, School of Medicine, Sahinbey Medical Center, Gaziantep TR-27310, Turkey
Alper Sevinc, M Emin Kalender, Celalettin Camci, Department of Medical Oncology, Gaziantep University, School of Medicine, Gaziantep Oncology Hospital, Gaziantep TR-27310, Turkey
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Alper Sevinc, Gaziantep University, School of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology, Gaziantep Oncology Hospital, Gaziantep TR-27310, Turkey. sevinc@gantep.edu.tr
Telephone: +90-342-4720711 Fax: +90-342-4720718
Received: December 20, 2006
Revised: December 28, 2006
Accepted: January 26, 2007
Published online: April 21, 2007
Abstract

A 41-year old female with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor was referred to 18F-FDG-positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) scan before and after one-month treatment with imatinib (Glivec®, Gleevec®, Novartis, Basel, Switzerland), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (400 mg/d). Metabolic response was evaluated before and after one month of therapy. The decrease of the maximum standardised uptake value (SUV) was 79% (from 9.8 to 2.1). Positron emission tomography demonstrated complete metabolic response after one-month of imatinib treatment. Additionally, the previous lesion was compared with the coronal computerized tomographic image. There was no difference in the size of the tumor before and after therapy according to CT images. However, metabolic activity was inhibited. 18F-FDG-PET is a valuable method for the detection of response to one-month imatinib treatment in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Keywords: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose; Positron emission tomography; Computerized tomography; Gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Imatinib