18F-FDG PET/CT AS AN ASSESSMENT TOOL OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA SECONDARY TO NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE DEVELOPMENT IN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL

• Autor(a) principal: LEVY,Caio de Souza
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: COSTA,Fernando Gomes de Barros, FARIA,Daniele de Paula, STEFANO,Jose Tadeu, COGLIATI,Bruno, OLIVEIRA,Claudia P
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Arquivos de gastroenterologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-28032019000100045
• topic: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Positron emission tomography computed tomography; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Animal models

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be the last step of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) evolution. Experimental models are crucial to elucidate the pathogenesis of HCC secondary to NAFLD. The 2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) plays an important role in evaluating HCC development and progression. OBJECTIVE: To standardize the imaging method of PET/CT with 18F-FDG as an evaluation tool of the experimental model of HCC secondary to NAFLD. METHODS: Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with choline-deficient high-fat diet and diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in the drinking water for 16 weeks and then received 1 mL of saline solution (0.9%) daily by gavage for three weeks. At the 16th and 19th weeks, abdominal ultrasonography (USG) was performed. 18F-FDG PET/CT images were obtained before the beginning of experiment (week 0) and at the end (week 19). Histological and immunohistochemically analysis were also performed. RESULTS: The USG results showed a homogeneous group at the 16th week with an average of 4.6±2.74 nodules per animal. At the 19th week, PET/CT findings demonstrated an average of 8.5±3.7 nodules per animal. The mean values of SUVmed and SUVmax were 2.186±0.1698 and 3.8±1.74, respectively. The average number of nodules per animal in the histological analysis was 5.5±1.5. From all nodules, 4.6% were classified as well-differentiated HCC and 81.8% were classified as poorly-differentiated HCC. CONCLUSION: 18F-FDG PET/CT was able to evaluate the development of HCC in an experimental model of NAFLD non-invasively. From the standardization of PET/CT in this model, it is possible to use this tool in future studies to monitor, in vivo and non-invasively, the progression of HCC.