Tumor Vascularity and Glucose Metabolism Correlated in Adenocarcinoma, but Not in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung

Background/Objectives To prospectively examine the relation between tumor vascularity and glucose metabolism in adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) of the lung by using positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Materials and Methods Forty-one consecutive patients with histologically confirmed untreated NSCLC underwent routine diagnostic work-up, including DCE-MRI and PET/CT. PET/CT images were used to derive glucose metabolism (SUVmax and SUVmean), and DCE-MRI images were used to derive tumor vascularity (Ktrans, Kep, Ve and iAUC). Any differences in the DCE-MRI and PET/CT estimations between the NSCLC subtypes were determined by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were calculated between the DCE-MRI parameter values and the SUV. Results SUVmean and SUVmax in AC were significantly lower than in SCC, but Ktrans and Ve in AC were significantly higher than in SCC. Significant correlations between SUV and DCE-MRI parameters were observed for SUVmax and Ve (ρ = −0.357, P = 0.022), SUVmean and Ktrans (ρ = −0.341, P = 0.029), and SUVmean and iAUC (ρ = −0.374, P = 0.016 ) in total; for SUVmax and iAUC (ρ = −0.420, P = 0.037), SUVmean and Ktrans (ρ = −0.411, P = 0.041), SUVmean and Kep (ρ = −0.045, P = 0.026), and SUVmean and iAUC (ρ = −0.512, P = 0.009) in AC; However, for neither in SCC. Conclusion AC and SCC showed different patterns in both tumor vascularity and glucose metabolism. Tumor vascularity and glucose metabolism negatively correlated in AC, but not in SCC. These differences may underlie the heterogeneity in clinical aspect of NSCLC subtypes and have implications for their imaging profiling and monitor the treatment response.