Manabu Kinoshita1, Yasuyoshi Chiba1, Akihiko Tsuboi2, Naoki Kagawa1, Jun Hatazawa3, Haruo Sugiyama4, Naoya Hashimoto1, Toshiki Yoshimine1
1Neurosurgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 2Cancer Immunotherapy, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 3Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 4Functional Diagnostic Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan
Immunotherapy targeting the Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) gene product is a promising treatment modality for patients with malignant gliomas with reports of encouraging results. It has become clear, however, that Gd-enhanced MRI (Gd-MRI) does not reflect prognosis, thereby necessitating a more robust imaging evaluation system for monitoring WT1 immunotherapy. In order to meet this demand, we have performed a voxel-wise parametric response map (PRM) analysis of 11C-methionine PET (Met-PET) in WT1 immunotherapy and compared the data with the overall survival after WT1 immunotherapy initiation (OSWT1). This study describes the limited value of Gd-MRI and highlights the potential of voxel-wise PRM analysis of Met-PET for monitoring treatment response in immunotherapy for malignant gliomas.