Quantitative PET/CT Imaging for Enhanced Evaluation of Prostate Cancer and Lymphoma

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans offer valuable insight into the progression of diseases, such as cancer. However, there is evidence that quantitative imaging metrics can enhance the prognostic value of PET and its ability to effectively guide treatment decisions. This thesis aims to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of tumour metrics as determined through PET images. To achieve this, we implemented both physical and simulated experiments using anthropomorphic phantoms. We evaluated two contrasting domains within nuclear medicine: (a.) Prostate cancer, in which prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET imaging is used for detection of focal lesions, as well as (b.) Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, in which [18F]FDG PET is used to detect bulky, heterogeneous lymph node conglomerates. For PSMA PET imaging, we propose and evaluate SUVapex, a segmentationfree metric for determining tumour tracer concentration. We also introduce the Canadian PET Prostate Phantom for Oncology (C3PO) - a PET/CT/MRI-compatible phantom designed for harmonization of PSMA PET imaging. Within the context of PMBCL PET, our results suggest that the 25% fixed threshold provides better accuracy for tumour volume quantification. Ideally, this study will lead to improved clinical reporting of tumour volume, which will result in improved outcome prediction and disease management of lymphoma within British Columbia.Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat