[¹¹C]Methionine PET uptake kinetics in corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors

[11C]Methionine ([11C]MET) PET provides high sensitivity to localize corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) in de novo Cushing’s disease but remains inconclusive in up to 20% of cases. Current PET protocols rely on late acquisitions (20–40 min post-injection). Since other endocrine tumors present earlier peak tracer uptake, corticotroph PitNETs might also exhibit early differential amino acid uptake, compared to the normal pituitary gland. This exploratory study based on data derived from a previously registered prospective multicenter cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03346954) included 15 patients with pathologically confirmed corticotroph PitNETs accurately localized using MRI. Kinetic analysis showed rapid early uptake in PitNETs and normal pituitary gland, followed by a significant decline over time, with consistently higher uptake in PitNETs (p < 0.05), but no statistically significant difference in temporal uptake pattern (p = 0.09). Early uptake slope and peak uptake were significantly higher in PitNETs compared to normal gland (p < 0.01), with moderate-to-high discriminative performance (area under the curve 0.78; 95%CI 0.60–0.94 and 0.86; 95%CI 0.69–0.98, respectively). Time-to-peak showed no statistically significant discriminative value. These findings suggest that kinetic parameters of [¹¹C]MET PET, particularly early slope and peak uptake, may provide complementary information to static PET for PitNET characterization.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2026-02-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39219-7
Primary Topic
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

[¹¹C]Methionine PET uptake kinetics in corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors

Anthime Flaus, Elise Levigoureux, Claire Bournaud, Luigi Maione et al.
Scientific Reports
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
article

[¹¹C]Methionine PET uptake kinetics in corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors

Anthime Flaus, Elise Levigoureux, Claire Bournaud, Luigi Maione, Igor TAUVERON, Sylvie Rode, Justine Cristante, Claire Briet, Guillaume Criton, Lucien Marchand, Natacha Germain, Armand Pattée, Véronique Lapras, Mireille Bertholon-Gregoire, Delphine Drui, IMPEC Collaborators, Gerald Raverot, Nicolas Costes, Frederic Castinetti, Ines Merida, Sophie Lancelot, Frederic Illouz, Julie Haesebaert
article en

Abstract

[11C]Methionine ([11C]MET) PET provides high sensitivity to localize corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) in de novo Cushing’s disease but remains inconclusive in up to 20% of cases. Current PET protocols rely on late acquisitions (20–40 min post-injection). Since other endocrine tumors present earlier peak tracer uptake, corticotroph PitNETs might also exhibit early differential amino acid uptake, compared to the normal pituitary gland. This exploratory study based on data derived from a previously registered prospective multicenter cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03346954) included 15 patients with pathologically confirmed corticotroph PitNETs accurately localized using MRI. Kinetic analysis showed rapid early uptake in PitNETs and normal pituitary gland, followed by a significant decline over time, with consistently higher uptake in PitNETs (p < 0.05), but no statistically significant difference in temporal uptake pattern (p = 0.09). Early uptake slope and peak uptake were significantly higher in PitNETs compared to normal gland (p < 0.01), with moderate-to-high discriminative performance (area under the curve 0.78; 95%CI 0.60–0.94 and 0.86; 95%CI 0.69–0.98, respectively). Time-to-peak showed no statistically significant discriminative value. These findings suggest that kinetic parameters of [¹¹C]MET PET, particularly early slope and peak uptake, may provide complementary information to static PET for PitNET characterization.

Scientific ReportsVol. 16(1)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Inserm (FR), Université Clermont Auvergne (FR), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble (FR), CEA Grenoble (FR), North American Skull Base Society (US), Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire de Grenoble (FR), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (FR), Hôpital de la Conception (FR), Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR), Hospices Civils de Lyon (FR), Centre Léon Bérard (FR), Centre d'Exploration et de Recherche Médicale par Emission de Positons (FR), Hôpital Lyon Sud (FR), Hôpital Saint Joseph (FR), Health Services and Performance Research Laboratory (FR), Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand (FR), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Brest (FR), Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé (FR), Institut du Thorax (FR), Hôpital Saint Roch (FR), Centre Hospitalier Saint-Joseph Saint-Luc (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Étienne (FR), Bicêtre Hospital (FR), Institut Génétique, Reproduction et Développement (FR), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (FR), Université d'Angers (FR), Université Jean Monnet (FR), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 42%
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.