Objective

High-grade gliomas (HGGs) carry dismal prognosis with survival typically reported as less than a year. We explored the predictive value of qualitative and quantitative evaluations of post-treatment 99m-technetium-labelled methoxyisobutylisonitrile (^99mmTc-MIBI) brain single-photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography (SPECT/CT) tumor uptake in relation to overall survival (OS) in patients with HGG.

Methods

Thirty patients with pathologically or radiologically documented high-grade glioma (HGG) were prospectively recruited for this study (24 male, 6 female; mean age 43 ± 14 years). All patients had a clinical or radiological suspicion of residual/recurrent tumor after initial therapy. ^99mTc-MIBI brain SPECT/CT scanning was performed, and the scans were evaluated qualitatively on a five-point probability score (1–5, scores ≥3 considered positive for residual/recurrent tumor); and quantitively via drawing volumes of interest (VOI) on the suspected lesions and normal contralateral brain tissue. All patients were followed up for 1 year or till death.

Results

Positive visual MIBI results were associated with poor survival. Among 10 patients with negative MIBI scores, only two patients died (OS = 75%), while 11/20 patients reported positive on MIBI died, with a median survival of 9 months (OS = 14.5%; P = 0.03). All patients with active isocontour volume ≤1.96 cm³ were alive at the end of the study, compared to a median survival of 9 months and OS of 12% for patients with an isocontour volume of >1.97% (P = 0.003).

Conclusion

In patients with HGG, post-therapy brain SPECT/CT with ^99mTc-MIBI can provide useful prognostic information.