TY - JOUR T1 - Pilot Study: Texture analysis of PET imaging demonstrates changes in <sup>18</sup>F-FDG uptake of the brain after prophylactic cranial irradiation. JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology JO - J. Nucl. Med. Technol. DO - 10.2967/jnmt.120.248393 SP - jnmt.120.248393 AU - David M. Sawyer AU - Travis W. Sawyer AU - Naghmehossadat Eshghi AU - Charles Hsu AU - Russell J. Hamilton AU - Linda L. Garland AU - Phillip H. Kuo Y1 - 2020/10/01 UR - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2020/10/02/jnmt.120.248393.abstract N2 - Rationale: Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used to decrease the probability of developing brain metastases in patients with small cell lung cancer and has been linked to deleterious cognitive effects. While no well-established imaging markers for these effects exist, previous studies have shown that structural and metabolic changes of the brain can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET). This study utilized an image processing technique called texture analysis to explore whether global changes in brain glucose metabolism could be characterized in PET images. Methods: 18F-FDG PET images of the brain from patients with small cell lung cancer, obtained before and after the administration of PCI, were processed using texture analysis. Texture features were compared between the pre- and post-PCI images. Results: Multiple texture features demonstrated statistically significant differences before and after PCI, when texture analysis was applied to the brain parenchyma as a whole. Regional differences were also seen but were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Global changes in brain glucose metabolism occur after PCI and are detectable using advanced image processing techniques. These changes may reflect radiation-induced damage and thus may provide a novel method for studying radiation-induced cognitive impairment. ER -