FLT PET: A Pilot Study in Lymphoma Patients

July 22, 2019 updated by: Amer Shammas, The Hospital for Sick Children

Imaging Cell Proliferation With FLT PET: A Pilot Study in Paediatric Lymphoma Patients With Equivocal FDG PET Findings

Background: Residual masses on follow-up surveillance imaging are frequently detected in paediatric patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The residual mass may consist of inflammatory, fibrous or necrotic tissue, or it could represent residual tumor. In most cases, positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) is useful for distinguishing tumor from fibrosis. However, FDG is not tumor-specific, and increased accumulation of the tracer may be seen in a variety of benign entities which can give rise to false-positive or equivocal FDG PET findings. Alternatively, the uptake of 3'-deoxy-3'-[fluorine-18]-fluorothymidine (FLT) reflects cellular proliferation, and may prove to be a reliable method in resolving equivocal FDG PET findings. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that FLT can be safely administered to children, and in some cases be more useful than FDG PET in differentiating between infection or inflammation and malignancy. This study hypothesizes that FLT PET can be used as an adjunct imaging modality in paediatric lymphoma patients with equivocal interim or post-therapy FDG PET findings, and that this technique can provide additional diagnostic information which will be useful in distinguishing fibrotic or necrotic residual mass lesions from those that may be harbouring malignancy.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

This is a prospective pilot study evaluating the clinical use of FLT PET in paediatric patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The overall objective of this trial is to assess the feasibility of using FLT PET as an adjunct imaging modality to follow-up paediatric lymphoma patients whose interim or post-therapy FDG PET scan is interpreted as being equivocal. The primary outcome measure is to obtain a preliminary estimate of the diagnostic performance (including the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy) of adjunct FLT PET. This pilot study will yield sufficient preliminary data to help justify and design a subsequent larger study of FLT PET in paediatric lymphoma patients.

This study is open only to HL and NHL patients whose interim or post-therapy FDG PET scan is interpreted as being equivocal and in whom it is not possible resolve the exam results using other conventional imaging techniques such as CT or MRI. All FLT PET image findings will be presented to the treating physician(s) responsible for managing the care of any patient enrolled in this trial. Treating physicians will continue to use routine practices to resolve equivocal FDG PET findings.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

8

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 1X8
        • The Hospital for Sick Children

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 day to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pediatric lymphoma

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • SickKids Hospital patient of any gender or race
  • Participants who are able to undergo imaging procedures without general anaesthesia or sedation
  • Patient's or the patient's parents'/guardians' written informed consent prior to participation
  • Previous FDG PET scan with at least one documented equivocal finding (i.e. SUV ≥ 2.0, but < 3.5) and no other finding(s) that is strongly suggestive of malignancy. The lesion(s) must have a minimum size of 1 cm in diameter by any CIM in order to address the spatial resolution limitations of the PET scanner.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are pregnant or nursing
  • Medically unstable or critically ill
  • Lack of informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
FDG PET
FDG PET imagaing
Each patient will receive a single intravenous injection of FDG (5.18 MBq/kg (0.14 mCi/kg)) using a minimum dose of 37 MBq (1 mCi) up to a maximum of 370 MBq (10 mCi) with an accepted 10%-20% variation since dose variation can occur when small concentrated volumes of FDG are being drawn up or radioactive decay has reduced the amount of available.
Other Names:
  • 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)
The FLT PET scan will be performed 1-5 days after FDG PET in order to ensure consistency between imaging findings. Each patient will receive a single intravenous injection of FLT (5.18 MBq/kg (0.14 mCi/kg)) using a minimum dose of 37 MBq (1 mCi) up to a maximum of 370 MBq (10 mCi) with an accepted 10%-20% variation since dose variation can occur when small concentrated volumes of FLT are being drawn up or radioactive decay has reduced the amount of available.
Other Names:
  • 3'-deoxy-3'-[fluorine-18]-fluorothymidine (FLT)
FLT PET
FLT PET imaging
Each patient will receive a single intravenous injection of FDG (5.18 MBq/kg (0.14 mCi/kg)) using a minimum dose of 37 MBq (1 mCi) up to a maximum of 370 MBq (10 mCi) with an accepted 10%-20% variation since dose variation can occur when small concentrated volumes of FDG are being drawn up or radioactive decay has reduced the amount of available.
Other Names:
  • 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)
The FLT PET scan will be performed 1-5 days after FDG PET in order to ensure consistency between imaging findings. Each patient will receive a single intravenous injection of FLT (5.18 MBq/kg (0.14 mCi/kg)) using a minimum dose of 37 MBq (1 mCi) up to a maximum of 370 MBq (10 mCi) with an accepted 10%-20% variation since dose variation can occur when small concentrated volumes of FLT are being drawn up or radioactive decay has reduced the amount of available.
Other Names:
  • 3'-deoxy-3'-[fluorine-18]-fluorothymidine (FLT)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of Performing FLT PET Imaging: SUVs values
Time Frame: FLT PET performed within 1-5 days of FDG PET. PET/CT image findings were compared in relation to pathology within 1 month (when tissue sampling was performed), additional cross-sectional imaging, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 3 months.

To assess the feasibility of performing 3'-deoxy-3'-[fluorine-18]-fluorothymidine positron emission tomography (FLT PET) imaging.

The investigator's goals were to assess the normal tissue distribution of 18F-FLT and to provide standardized uptake values (SUVs) of lesions demonstrating equivocal uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT and compare SUVs values of FLT and FDG

FLT PET performed within 1-5 days of FDG PET. PET/CT image findings were compared in relation to pathology within 1 month (when tissue sampling was performed), additional cross-sectional imaging, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 3 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diagnostic Performance
Time Frame: PET/CT image findings were compared in relation to pathology within 1 month (when tissue sampling was performed), additional cross-sectional imaging, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 3 months
To obtain a preliminary estimate of the diagnostic performance of adjunct 3'-deoxy-3'-[fluorine-18]-fluorothymidine positron emission tomography (FLT PET) in identifying malignant Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma lesions which receive an equivocal diagnosis by 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET). Provide standardized uptake values (SUVs) of lesions demonstrating equivocal uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT.
PET/CT image findings were compared in relation to pathology within 1 month (when tissue sampling was performed), additional cross-sectional imaging, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Amer Shammas, Md, The Hospital for Sick Children

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 12, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 22, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 22, 2019

Last Verified

July 1, 2019

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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