RESEARCH ARTICLE Nerve Sheath Tumors in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Assessment of Whole-Body Metabolic Tumor Burden Using F-18-FDG PET/CT

Purpose To determine the metabolically active whole-body tumor volume (WB-MTV) on F-18-fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18-FDG PET/CT) in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) using a three-dimensional (3D) segmen-tation and computerized volumetry technique, and to compare PETWB-MTV between patients with benign and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs). Patients and Methods Thirty-six NF1 patients (18 patients with malignant PNSTs and 18 age- and sex-matched controls with benign PNSTs) were examined by F-18-FDG PET/CT. WB-MTV, whole-body total lesion glycolysis (WB-TLG) and a set of semi-quantitative imaging-based parameters were analyzed both on a per-patient and a per-lesion basis. Results On a per-lesion basis, malignant PNSTs demonstrated both a significantly higher MTV and TLG than benign PNSTs (p < 0.0001). On a per-patient basis, WB-MTV andWB-TLG wer