PURPOSE: The follow-up of patients with malignant brain tumors after surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy has been inadequate for evaluating brain tumor burden using computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thallium-201 has been shown to concentrate in viable tumor, and Tl-201 single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) imaging can identify tumor burden more accurately than CT.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty-one patients with glioblastoma and three patients with low grade astrocytoma were studied with Tl-201 SPECT. Histololgic diagnosis was obtained in all patients by biopsy and all patients had CT scans within 2 weeks of the SPECT study. Seventeen patients were followed with one or more SPECT and CT evaluations.RESULTS: Single photon emission computerized tomography studies, after surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy, were more accurate than CT in identifying progression or regression of disease. Twenty-three patients had evidence of disease and 11 patients had no evidence of recurrent disease in the initial Tl-201 SPECT study following therapy. Computerized tomography identified 20 of the 23 patients with disease and 6 of 11 patients with no recurrent disease. Follow-up with Tl-201 SPECT in 17 patients suggested progression of disease in 9 patients, while CT showed progression in only 3 patients. Clinical examinations and repeat CT studies confirmed the accuracy of Tl-201 SPECT images.CONCLUSION: We found Tl-201 SPECT more accurate than CT scans in a prospective evaluation of 34 patients with brain tumor. Follow-up studies with both Tl-201 SPECT and CT imaging in 17 patients demonstrated that SPECT was more reliable than CT in identifying progression, improvement, or no change in brain tumor burden.
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