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Am J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2012;2(1):33-47
Review Article
The clinical use of PET with 11C-acetate
Ilaria Grassi , Cristina Nanni , Vincenzo Allegri, Joshua James Morigi, Gian Carlo Montini, Paolo Castellucci, Stefano Fanti
Unità Operativa di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy
Received June 30, 2011; accepted December 9, 2011; Epub December 15, 2011; Published January 1, 2012
Abstract: The aim of this review is to evaluate clinical applications of 11C-acetate positron emission tomography (PET). Acetate is
quickly metabolized into acetyl-CoA in human cells. In this form it can either enter into the tricarboxylic acid cycle, thus producing
energy, as happens in the myocardium, or participate in cell membrane lipid synthesis, as happens in tumor cells. 11C-acetate PET
was originally employed in cardiology, to study myocardial oxygen metabolism. More recently it has also been used to evaluate
myocardial perfusion, as well as in oncology. The first studies of 11C-acetate focused on its use in prostate cancer. Subsequently,
11C-acetate was studied in other urological malignancies, as well as renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. Well differentiated
hepatocellular carcinoma represents an 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET pitfall, so many authors have proposed to use
11C-acetate in addition to 18F-FDG in studying this tumor. 11C-acetate PET has also been used in other malignancies, such as
brain tumors and lung carcinoma. Some authors reported a few cases in which 11C-acetate PET incidentally found multiple
myeloma or rare tumors, such as thymoma, multicentric angiomyolipoma of the kidney and cerebellopontine angle schwannoma.
Lastly, 11C-acetate PET was also employed in a differential diagnosis case between glioma and encephalitis. The numerous
studies on 11C-acetate have demonstrated that it can be used in cardiology and oncology with no contraindications apart from
pregnancy and the necessity of a rapid scan. Despite its limited availability, this tracer can surely be considered to be a promising
one, because of its versatility and capacity to even detect non 18F-FDG-avid neoplasm, such as differentiated lung cancer or
hepatocellular carcinoma. (ajnmmi1106004).
Keywords: positron emission tomography (PET), 11C-acetate, cancer, cardiology, prostate cancer, liver cancer, brain tumor
Full text PDF
Address all correspondence to:
Dr. Ilaria Grassi
Unità Operativa di Medicina Nucleare
Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi
Bologna, Italy.
E-mail: ilary.grassi@libero.it
Review Article
The clinical use of PET with 11C-acetate
Ilaria Grassi , Cristina Nanni , Vincenzo Allegri, Joshua James Morigi, Gian Carlo Montini, Paolo Castellucci, Stefano Fanti
Unità Operativa di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy
Received June 30, 2011; accepted December 9, 2011; Epub December 15, 2011; Published January 1, 2012
Abstract: The aim of this review is to evaluate clinical applications of 11C-acetate positron emission tomography (PET). Acetate is
quickly metabolized into acetyl-CoA in human cells. In this form it can either enter into the tricarboxylic acid cycle, thus producing
energy, as happens in the myocardium, or participate in cell membrane lipid synthesis, as happens in tumor cells. 11C-acetate PET
was originally employed in cardiology, to study myocardial oxygen metabolism. More recently it has also been used to evaluate
myocardial perfusion, as well as in oncology. The first studies of 11C-acetate focused on its use in prostate cancer. Subsequently,
11C-acetate was studied in other urological malignancies, as well as renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. Well differentiated
hepatocellular carcinoma represents an 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET pitfall, so many authors have proposed to use
11C-acetate in addition to 18F-FDG in studying this tumor. 11C-acetate PET has also been used in other malignancies, such as
brain tumors and lung carcinoma. Some authors reported a few cases in which 11C-acetate PET incidentally found multiple
myeloma or rare tumors, such as thymoma, multicentric angiomyolipoma of the kidney and cerebellopontine angle schwannoma.
Lastly, 11C-acetate PET was also employed in a differential diagnosis case between glioma and encephalitis. The numerous
studies on 11C-acetate have demonstrated that it can be used in cardiology and oncology with no contraindications apart from
pregnancy and the necessity of a rapid scan. Despite its limited availability, this tracer can surely be considered to be a promising
one, because of its versatility and capacity to even detect non 18F-FDG-avid neoplasm, such as differentiated lung cancer or
hepatocellular carcinoma. (ajnmmi1106004).
Keywords: positron emission tomography (PET), 11C-acetate, cancer, cardiology, prostate cancer, liver cancer, brain tumor
Full text PDF
Address all correspondence to:
Dr. Ilaria Grassi
Unità Operativa di Medicina Nucleare
Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi
Bologna, Italy.
E-mail: ilary.grassi@libero.it
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