Semi-quantitative measurements of normal organs with variable metabolic activity on FDG PET imaging

Abstract

Introduction: This study evaluates the variable physiological fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in normal organs and their normal standardised uptake values (SUVs) among the Chinese population. Materials and Methods: One hundred Chinese patients were enrolled into the study. There were 52 males and 48 females; their mean age was 53.5 years (range, 13 to 79 years). The SUVs of various organs were obtained from the transaxial views, but coronal and sagittal images were used whenever the exact location was in doubt. If there was further doubt, correlation with computed tomography images was made. Results: The highest FDG uptakes were found in the cerebellum, tonsils, myocardium, liver, spleen, stomach and rectum. Conclusion: Knowing the variability of normal FDG accumulation is valuable for proper interpretation of whole-body FDG positron emission tomography (PET) studies.