Potential Applications of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in the Evaluation of Salivary Gland Uptake Function: Preliminary Observations and Comparison with 99mTcO4− Salivary Gland Scintigraphy

<div>A 64-year-old male patient (patient 5) with nasopharyngeal carcinoma received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT MIP (a) and tomographic images (c–e) clearly show a slight uptake of 68Ga-PSMA-11 in the right submandibular gland (small arrow; SUVmax, 2.6) but no significant uptake of imaging agents in the left submandibular gland (large arrow; SUVmax, 1.9). The slice images (d–e) show that the volume of the left submandibular gland was significantly reduced. SGS (b) showed no significant <svg height="15.4254pt" id="M15" style="vertical-align:-3.834pt" version="1.1" viewbox="-0.0498162 -11.5914 46.3723 15.4254" width="46.3723pt" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,0,-5.741)"><path d="M247 635C116 635 39 518 39 421C39 315 113 237 221 237C239 237 258 241 281 253L349 289C315 140 204 42 60 19L66 -15C90 -15 153 -5 207 16C344 70 447 199 447 385C447 521 373 635 247 635ZM231 598C329 598 356 478 356 390C356 371 355 347 352 325C330 309 297 297 262 297C179 297 127 369 127 456C127 515 156 598 231 598Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,4.433,-5.741)"><path d="M247 635C116 635 39 518 39 421C39 315 113 237 221 237C239 237 258 241 281 253L349 289C315 140 204 42 60 19L66 -15C90 -15 153 -5 207 16C344 70 447 199 447 385C447 521 373 635 247 635ZM231 598C329 598 356 478 356 390C356 371 355 347 352 325C330 309 297 297 262 297C179 297 127 369 127 456C127 515 156 598 231 598Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,8.865,-5.741)"><path d="M797 0V26C739 32 732 36 732 103V296C732 394 682 449 605 449C576 449 550 437 529 423C504 407 475 389 446 366C425 418 382 449 334 449C303 449 279 437 253 421C222 403 201 385 180 371V452C135 432 85 419 41 411V388C99 379 102 374 102 310V103C102 38 93 32 27 26V0H238V26C189 32 180 38 180 103V338C210 363 250 390 289 390C351 390 377 348 377 275V103C377 37 368 32 306 26V0H520V26C465 32 456 38 456 101V296C456 314 455 326 453 338C491 369 529 390 565 390C628 390 653 345 653 274V107C653 36 642 32 583 26V0H797Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,16.876,0)"><path d="M592 498C586 556 582 629 581 675H560C545 656 537 650 510 650H115C87 650 74 652 60 675H40C38 620 33 555 28 495H57C69 539 77 568 89 585C102 607 122 616 205 616H267V123C267 44 259 34 168 28V0H454V28C360 34 352 44 352 123V616H422C498 616 514 608 531 584C542 568 552 543 562 495L592 498Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,24.927,0)"><path d="M390 111C344 68 312 56 269 56C212 56 118 102 118 241C118 346 175 401 241 401C277 401 312 388 342 360C350 352 355 349 361 349C372 349 394 371 394 392C394 403 391 411 378 422C362 436 329 449 288 449H287C250 449 190 432 138 392C71 341 37 274 37 197C37 90 112 -12 238 -12C297 -12 363 32 407 90L390 111Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,30.426,0)"><path d="M381 665C170 665 44 498 44 318C44 125 188 -15 369 -15C552 -15 703 117 703 333C703 534 550 665 381 665ZM359 629C491 629 601 517 601 306C601 114 502 21 390 21C249 21 146 158 146 346S248 629 359 629Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,40.194,-5.741)"><path d="M556 236V289H56V236H556Z"></path></g><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,40.194,3.784)"><path d="M462 177V227H365V632H320C217 496 116 350 21 208V177H284V109C284 43 280 38 190 31V0H451V31C369 38 365 43 365 108V177H462ZM284 227H88C155 336 218 430 282 519H284V227Z"></path></g></svg> uptake in the bilateral submandibular glands, confirming a severe decrease in its uptake function.</div>

Contrast Media & Molecular Imaging

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Figure 3

Figure 3: Potential Applications of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in the Evaluation of Salivary Gland Uptake Function: Preliminary Observations and Comparison with 99mTcO4− Salivary Gland Scintigraphy

Figure 3 | Potential Applications of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in the Evaluation of Salivary Gland Uptake Function: Preliminary Observations and Comparison with 99mTcO4− Salivary Gland Scintigraphy 