A Prospective Study of Quantitative SPECT/CT for Evaluation of Lung Shunt Fraction Before SIRT of Liver Tumors

The lung shunt fraction (LSF) is estimated using Tc-99m-macroaggregated albumin (Tc-99m-MAA) imaging before selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) of the liver to reduce the risk of pulmonary irradiation. Generally, planar scans are acquired after injection of Tc-99m-MAA into the hepatic artery. However, the validity of this approach is limited by differences in attenuation between liver and lung tissue as well as inaccurate segmentation of the organs. The aim of this study was to evaluate quantitative SPECT/CT for LSF assessment in a prospective clinical cohort. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients intended to undergo SIRT were imaged within 1 h after injection of Tc-99m-MAA using a SPECT/CT gamma-camera. Planar scans of the lung and liver region were acquired in anterior and posterior views, followed by SPECT/CT scans of the thorax and abdomen. Emission data were corrected for scatter, attenuation, and resolution recovery using dedicated software. To quantify the radioactivity concentration in the lung, liver, urinary bladder and remainder of the thoracoabdominal body, volumes of interest were defined on the SPECT/CT images. Tc-99m-MAA concentrations were calculated as percentage injected dose (%ID). Results: Mean Tc-99m-MAA uptake in liver and lung accounted for only 79 %ID, whereas 13.1 % ID was present in the remainder of the body. In all patients, LSF as calculated from planar scans accounted for a median of 6.8% (range, 3.4%-32.3%), whereas the SPECT/CT quantitation revealed significantly lower LSF estimates, at a median of 1.9% (range, 0.8%15.7%) (P < 0.0001, Wilcoxon test). On the basis of planar imaging, dose reduction or even contraindications to SIRT had to be considered in 10 of 50 patients, as their LSF was calculated at 10% or more. In contrast, SPECT/CT quantitation showed substantial shunting in only 2 of the 50 patients. Conclusion: Quantitative SPECT/CT reveals that the LSF is considerably lower than shown on planar imaging. Thus, the resulting dose to the lung parenchyma may be less than conventionally assumed. However, the safety of the SPECT/CT-derived dose range will have to be evaluated.