[18F]AA-7: PET imaging in patients with suspected glioma.

11066 Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with [11C]methionine provides valuable information about amino acid metabolism in brain tumors. In surgical resection or radiotherapy of gliomas, precisely detecting the normal brain tissue–tumor boundary is critically important. However, as [11C]methionine accumulates not only in tumor tissues but also in normal and inflamed tissues, it cannot detect precisely the normal brain tissue–tumor boundary. Hence, the purpose of this study was to develop a tumor-specific PET tracer, targeting the amino acid transporter LAT1, to assess the safety, biodistribution, and dosimetric properties of the novel PET radiopharmaceutical agent, and to preliminarily evaluate its application in the diagnosis of glioma. Methods: We have developed the novel LAT1-specific tracer, [18F]AA-7. In preclinical studies, PET imaging with [18F]AA-7 was performed in mice bearing LNZ308 human glioblastoma cell line and also in two mice models of inflammation (turpentine oil-induc...