Reference values for fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose and fluorine-18-sodium fluoride uptake in human arteries: a prospective evaluation of 89 healthy adults

Abstract

Objective Reference values of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18F-FDG) and fluorine-18-sodium fluoride ( 18F-NaF) uptake in human arteries are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine age-specific and sex-specific reference values of arterial 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptake. Participants and methods Uptake of 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF was determined in the ascending aorta, aortic arch, and descending thoracic aorta. In addition, 18F-FDG uptake was determined in the carotid arteries and 18F-NaF uptake was determined in the coronary arteries. Arterial 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptake were quantified as the blood pool subtracted maximum activity concentration in kBq/ml (BS 18F-FDG max and BS 18F-NaF max, respectively). In addition to determining reference values, we evaluated the influence of age and sex on BS 18F-FDG max and BS 18F-NaF max. Results Arterial 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptake was assessed in 89 healthy adults aged 21-75 years (mean age: 44±14 years, 53% men). Both BS 18F-FDG max and BS 18F-NaF max increased with age. BS 18F-FDG max increased with age in the descending aorta (β=0.28; P=0.003), whereas BS 18F-NaF max increased with age in the ascending aorta (β=0.18; P<0.001), aortic arch (β=0.19; P=0.006), descending aorta (β=0.33; P<0.001), and coronary arteries (β=0.20; P=0.009), respectively. BS 18F-FDG max and BS 18F-NaF max were not influenced by sex, except for BS 18F-FDG max in the ascending aorta. Conclusion Prospective evaluation of 89 healthy adults generated age-specific and sex-specific reference values of arterial 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptake. Our findings indicate that arterial 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptake tend to increase with age.