Correlation between glucose transporter-1 expression and 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography in lung cancer

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if glucose transporter-1 (Glut1) expression correlates with 18F-FDG (18F-fluoro-2- deoxyglucose) uptake on positron emission tomography (PET) in lung cancer and to examine the similarities and differences between them. Methods: A total of 34 patients with resected primary lung cancers were investigated in this study. There were 17 adenocarcinomas, 12 squamous cell carcinomas, and 5 cancers of other cell types. Immunohistochemical Glut1 intensity was categorized into three groups: negative, positive, and strongly positive. Glut1 frequency was defined by the proportion of positive cells among all cancer cells, and it was graded on a semiquantitative scale as 0-100% in 10% increments. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD. Results: Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) were 4.8 ± 6.3 in "negative" Glut1 intensity cases, 4.7 ± 3.1 in "positive" Glut1 intensity cases, and 11.2 ± 5.2 in "strongly positive" Glut1 intensity cases. Although SUVmax correlated significantly with tumor size (correlation coefficient 0.58, P = 0.00033), Glut1 frequency did not correlate significantly with tumor size (correlation coefficient 0.18, P = 0.301). Cell type and cell differentiation correlated significantly with Glut1 expression and 18F-FDG uptake. Conclusion: Glut1 expression correlates significantly with 18F-FDG uptake. There are similarities in cell differentiation and cell type between Glut1 expression and 18F-FDG uptake. 18F-FDG uptake correlates significantly with tumor size, but Glut1 expression does not. © 2010 The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.