[en] If the effectives for the distinction of perirectal lymph node metastasis is proved to be higher than the previous convectional detection methods, likewise CT and endorectal ultrasound, more precise and more specific information will be taken by this new modality. Preoperative biopsy-proven rectal adenocrcinoma patients with or without distant metastasis were included for this study. For the effectiveness of PET for the distinction of perirectal lymph node metastasis, CT and endorectal ultrasound versus PET findings of perirectal lymph node status were compared with permanent pathology results. The findings of preoperative conventional methods showed that 8 patients had not perirectal lymph node metastasis and 6 patients had perirectal lymph node metastasis. The accuracy of conventional methods was 50% compared with 37.5% of that of PET in the case of 8 patients. In the case of 6 patients, accuracy was 100% in the conventional methods and 66.7% in PET study. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 60% and 100% in the conventional methods and 40% and 75% in PET study respectively. Therefore, PET is not effective for the distinction of L/N metastasis of rectal cancer comparing with conventional methods such as CT and ERUS preopratively

[en] If the effectiveness for the distinction of perirectal lymph node metastasis is proved to be higher than the previous conventional detection methods, likewise CT and endorectal ultrasound, more precise and more specific information will be taken by this new modality. Preoperative biopsy-proven rectal adenocarcinoma patients with or without distant metastasis were included for this study. For the effectiveness of PET for the distinction of perirectal lymph node metastasis, CT and endorectal ultrasound versus findings of perirectal lymph node status were compared with permanent pathology results. The findings of preoperative conventional methods showed that 8 patients had not preirectal lymph node metastasis and 6 patients and perirectal lymph node metastasis. The accuracy of conventional methods was 50 % compared with 37.5 % of that of PET in the case of 8 patients. In the case of 6 patients, accuracy was 100 % in the conventional methods and 66.7 % in PET study. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 60 % and 100 % in the conventional methods and 40 % and 75 % in PET study respectively. Therefore, PET is not effective for the distinction of L/N metastasis of rectal cancer comparing with conventional methods such as CT and ERUS preoperatively

[en] The positron emission tomograhpy (PET) has been used for the evaluation of the characteristics of various tumors. The role of PET in oncology has been evolved from a pure research tool to a methodology of enormous clinical potential. The unique characteristics of PET imaging make sophisticated quantitation possible. Several quantitative methods, such as standardized uptake values (SUV), simplifield quantitation method, Patlak graphical analysis, and Sokoloff's glucose metabolism measurement, have been used in the field of oncology. However, each quantitative method has limitations of its own. For example, the SUV has been used as a quantitative index of glucose metabolism for tumor classification and monitoring response to treatment, even though it depends on blood glucose level, body configuration of patient, and scanning time. The quantitative methods of PET are reviewed and strategy for implementing these methods are presented

[en] Radiation synovetomy with various radiopharmaceuticals has been used to alleviate pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and related joint diseases for more than 40 years. It is an attractive alternative to the surgical synovectomy for the management of the various joint diseases. Recently, the development of new radiopharmaceuticals labeled with ⁹⁰Y, ³²P, ¹⁸⁶Re, ¹⁸⁸Re, ¹⁵³Sm, ¹⁶⁵Dy and ¹⁶⁶Ho, for the effective management of synovial inflammation and related arthritic problems are gaining attention. In this article the general concepts and the clinical application of radiation synovectomy are reviewed

[en] Clinical application of positron emission tomography (PET) is rapidly increasing for the detection and staging of cancer at whole-body studies performed with 2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). Although many cancers can be detected by FDG-PET, there has been limited clinical experience with FDG-PET for the detection of gynecological cancers including malignancies in uterus and ovary. FDG-PET can show foci of metastatic disease that may not be apparent at conventional anatomic imaging and can aid in the characterization of indeterminate soft-tissue masses. Most gynecological cancers need to surgical management. FDG-PET can improve the selection of patients for surgical treatment and thereby reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with inappropriate surgery. FDG-PET is also useful for the early detection of recurrence and the monitoring of therapeutic effect. In this review, I discuss the clinical feasibility and imitations of this imaging modality in patients with gynecological cancers

[en] Clinical application of positron emission tomography (PET) is rapidly increasing for the detection and staging of cancer at whole-body studies performed with the glucose analogue tracer 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FG). Although FDG PET cannot match the anatomic resolution of conventional imaging techniques in the liver and the other abdominal organs, it is particularly useful for identification and characterization of the entire body simultaneously. FDG PET can show foci of metastatic disease that may not be apparent at conventional anatomic imaging and can aid in the characterizing of indeterminate soft-tissue masses. Most abdominal cancer requires surgical management. FGD PET can improve the selection of patients for surgical treatment and thereby reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with inappropriate surgery. FDG PET is also useful for the early detection of recurrence and the monitoring of therapeutic effect. The abdominal cancers, such as gastroesophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer, are common malignancies in Korea, and PET is one of the most promising and useful methodologies for the management of abdominal cancers

[en] In this project, we studied following subjects: 1. Clinical research for radionuclide therapy 2. Development of in vitro assay method with radioisotope 3. Development of binary therapy; Boron neutron capture therapy and photodynamic therapy 4. Development of diagnostic methods in radionuclide imaging. The results can be applied for the following objectives: 1) Radionuclide therapy will be applied in clinical practice to treat the cancer patients or other diseases in multi-center trial 2) The newly developed monoclonal antibodies and biomolecules can be used in biology, chemistry or other basic life science research 3) The new methods for the analysis of therapeutic effects, such as dosimetry, and quantitative analysis methods of radioactivity, can be applied in basic research, such as radiation oncology and radiation biology 4) The result of the project will be expected to develop the new radioimmunoassay for drug monitoring following the clinical experiments 5) Boron porphyrin has been successfully labeled with iodine. This enables the pharmacodynamic study of the boron compound in human body 6) A method to evaluate the biological effect of neutrons on tumor cells has been developed 7) The establishment of macro- and microscopic dose assessment using alpha-track autoradiography 8) Clinical application of PDT in bladder cancers, oropharyngeal cancer and skin cancer 9) Radionuclide imaging of estrogen receptor in breast cancer, lipid metabolism, gene therapy, cancers, brain function and heart disease

[en] The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of radioactivity quantitation in Tc-99m SPECT by using combined scatter and attenuation correction. A cylindrical phantom which simulated tumors (T) and normal tissue (B) was filled with varying activity ratios of Tc-99m. We acquired emission scans of the phantom using a three-headed SPECT system (Trionix, Inc.) with two energy windows (photopeak window: 126∼154 keV and scatter window: 101∼123 keV. We performed the scatter correction with dual-energy window subtraction method (k=0.4) and Chang attenuation correction. Three sets of SPECT images were reconstructed using combined scatter and attenuation correction (SC+AC), attenuation correction (AC) and without any correction (NONE). We compared T/B ratio, image contrast [(T-B)/(T+B)] and absolute radioactivity with true values. SC+AC images had the highest mean values of T/B ratios. Image contrast was 0.92 in SC+AC, which was close to the true value of 1, and higher than AC (0.77) or NONE (0.80). Errors of true activity by SPECT images ranged from 1 to 11% for SC+AC, 22∼47% for AC, and 2∼16% for NONE in a phantom which was located 2.4cm from the phantom surface. In a phantom located 10.0cm from the surface, SC+AC underestimated by 24%, NONE 40%. However, AC overestimated by 10%. We conclude that accurate SPECT activity quantitation of Tc-99m distribution can be achieved by dual window scatter correction combined with attenuation correction

[en] We evaluated the monoclonal antibody CEA-79.4 against carcinoembryonic antigen as an immunoscintigraphic agent for assessing the state of the bone marrow. Western blotting of human granulocyte extracts with the antibody could confirm that the binding was with the epitope of NCA-95. Immunocytochemical staining of bone marrow aspirates revealed specific uptake of this antibody by granulopoietic cells. The affinity constant was 2-9 x 10⁹ L/mol. Immunoscintigraphy using ^99mTc-labeled CEA-79.4 in a normal volunteer revealed high uptake in the bone marrow as compared to other organs

[en] The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of quantitative Tl-201 tomography to identify and localize coronary artery disease (CAD). The study population consisted of 41 patients (31 males, 10 females; mean age 55 ± 7 yr) including 14 with prior myocardial infarction who underwent both exercise Tl-201 myocardium SPECT and coronary angiography for the evaluation of chest pain. From the short axis and vertical long axis tomograms, stress extent polar maps were generated by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center program, and the 9 stress defect extent (SDE) was quantified for each coronary artery territory. For the purpose of this study, the coronary circulation was divided into 6 arterial segments, and the myocardial ischemic score (MIS) was calculated from the coronary angiogram. Sensitivity for the detection of CAD (>50% coronary stenosis by angiography) by stress extent polar map was 95% in single vessel disease, and 100% in double and triple vessel diseases. Overall sensitivity was 97%<. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of individual diseased vessels were, respectively, 87% and 90% for the left anterior descending artery (LAD), 36% and 93% for the left circumflex artery (LCX), and 71% and 70%, for the right coronary artery (RCA). Concordance for the detection of individual diseased vessels between the coronary angiography and stress polar map was fair for the LAD (kappa=0.70), and RCA (kappa=0.41) lesions, whereas it was poor for the LCK lesions (kappa =0.32) There were significant correlations between the MIS and SDE in LAD (rs=0. 56, p=0.0027), and RCA territory (rs=0.60, p=0.0094). No significant correlation was found in LCX territory. When total vascular territories were combined, there was a significant correlation between the MIS and SDE (rs=0.42, p=0,0116). In conclusion, the quantitative analysis of Tl-201 tomograms appears to be accurate for determining the presence and location of CAD.