Physiological ¹⁸F-Fluciclovine Biodistribution in the Head: A PET/CT Study

Physiological ¹⁸F-Fluciclovine Biodistribution in the Head: A PET/CT Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Physiological ¹⁸F-Fluciclovine Biodistribution in the Head: A PET/CT Study Yumi Abe, Ryogo Minamimoto, Naotoshi Fujita, Marina Higashi, Rintaro Ito, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8308132/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective Anti-1-amino-3-[18F] fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (18F-fluciclovine; anti-3-[18F] FACBC) is an amino acid positron emission tomography (PET) tracer used for the evaluation of brain tumors in cases of suspected or diagnosed glioma. However, reports on the physiological biodistribution of 18F-fluciclovine in the head, are limited. This study analyzed the physiological biodistribution of 18F-fluciclovine PET in the head. Methods 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT images from 20 patients with suspected malignant glioma were retrospectively reviewed. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) were measured in 24 predefined head regions, and inter-regional differences were assessed using one-way ANOVA. Time–activity curves were generated for dynamic evaluation in 15 patients to assess temporal uptake patterns. Among these patients, 8 also underwent 11C-methionine PET/CT, enabling direct comparison of SUVs between the two tracers using paired t-tests. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results All values are reported as SUVmean. Intracerebral uptake of 18F-fluciclovine was low (white matter 0.2, cerebral cortex 0.3, other brain regions 0.4). Extracerebral uptake was highest in the parotid glands (3.4), followed by pharynx (2.5), pituitary gland and nasal cavity (2.3), muscle (2.2), bone marrow (2.0), and skin (1.9). Dynamic analysis showed that brain uptake remained low and stable, whereas the pituitary and parotid glands peaked early with gradual washout. In paired comparison, 11C-methionine showed significantly higher uptake in all brain regions, whereas 18F-fluciclovine was significantly higher in the venous sinus, cavernous sinus, muscle, and nasal cavity. Conclusion This study establishes a detailed baseline of physiological 18F-fluciclovine distribution in the head. These findings may contribute to distinguishing physiological from pathological uptake and suggest the potential usefulness of 18F-fluciclovine PET for tumor margin delineation and preoperative diagnostic assessment in brain tumors. 18F-fluciclovine physiological biodistribution standardized uptake value amino acid positron emission tomography Full Text Additional Declarations Table 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files table.pdf onineresource.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8308132","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":558810774,"identity":"b57030f1-fd80-4efe-b9a2-bb04bdce7d7c","order_by":0,"name":"Yumi 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Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"18F-fluciclovine, physiological biodistribution, standardized uptake value, amino acid positron emission tomography","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8308132/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8308132/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eObjective Anti-1-amino-3-[18F] fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (18F-fluciclovine; anti-3-[18F] FACBC) is an amino acid positron emission tomography (PET) tracer used for the evaluation of brain tumors in cases of suspected or diagnosed glioma. However, reports on the physiological biodistribution of 18F-fluciclovine in the head, are limited. This study analyzed the physiological biodistribution of 18F-fluciclovine PET in the head.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethods 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT images from 20 patients with suspected malignant glioma were retrospectively reviewed. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) were measured in 24 predefined head regions, and inter-regional differences were assessed using one-way ANOVA. Time–activity curves were generated for dynamic evaluation in 15 patients to assess temporal uptake patterns. Among these patients, 8 also underwent 11C-methionine PET/CT, enabling direct comparison of SUVs between the two tracers using paired t-tests. Statistical significance was set at P \u0026lt; 0.05.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults All values are reported as SUVmean. Intracerebral uptake of 18F-fluciclovine was low (white matter 0.2, cerebral cortex 0.3, other brain regions 0.4). Extracerebral uptake was highest in the parotid glands (3.4), followed by pharynx (2.5), pituitary gland and nasal cavity (2.3), muscle (2.2), bone marrow (2.0), and skin (1.9). Dynamic analysis showed that brain uptake remained low and stable, whereas the pituitary and parotid glands peaked early with gradual washout. In paired comparison, 11C-methionine showed significantly higher uptake in all brain regions, whereas 18F-fluciclovine was significantly higher in the venous sinus, cavernous sinus, muscle, and nasal cavity.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusion This study establishes a detailed baseline of physiological 18F-fluciclovine distribution in the head. These findings may contribute to distinguishing physiological from pathological uptake and suggest the potential usefulness of 18F-fluciclovine PET for tumor margin delineation and preoperative diagnostic assessment in brain tumors.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Physiological ¹⁸F-Fluciclovine Biodistribution in the Head: A PET/CT Study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-16 22:49:39","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8308132/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7604ba36-a7f1-4d8b-a059-96b2aac91691","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-05T03:09:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-16 22:49:39","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8308132","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8308132","identity":"rs-8308132","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}