High Correlation of Static First-Minute-Frame (FMF) PET Imaging after (18)F-Labeled Amyloid Tracer Injection with [(18)F]FDG PET Imaging

Dynamic early-phase PET images acquired with radiotracers binding to fibrillar amyloid-beta (Aβ) have shown to correlate with [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET images and provide perfusion-like information. Perfusion information of static PET scans acquired during the first minute after radiotracer injection (FMF, first-minute-frame) is compared to [(18)F]FDG PET images. FMFs of 60 patients acquired with [(18)F]florbetapir (FBP), [(18)F]flutemetamol (FMM), and [(18)F]florbetaben (FBB) are compared to [(18)F]FDG PET images. Regional standardized uptake value ratios (SUVR) are directly compared and intrapatient Pearson’s correlation coefficients are calculated to evaluate the correlation of FMFs to their corresponding [(18)F]FDG PET images. Additionally, regional interpatient correlations are calculated. The intensity profiles of mean SUVRs among the study cohort (r = 0.98, p < 0.001) and intrapatient analyses show strong correlations between FMFs and [(18)F]FDG PET images (r = 0.93 ± 0.05). Regional VOI-based analyses also result in high correlation coefficients. The FMF shows similar information to the cerebral metabolic patterns obtained by [(18)F]FDG PET imaging. Therefore, it could be an alternative to the dynamic imaging of early phase amyloid PET and be used as an additional neurodegeneration biomarker in amyloid PET studies in routine clinical practice while being acquired at the same time as amyloid PET images.