Normal SUV Values Measured from NaF18- PET/CT Bone Scan Studies

OBJECTIVES Cancer and metabolic bone diseases can alter the SUV. SUV values have never been measured from healthy skeletons in NaF18-PET/CT bone scans. The primary aim of this study was to measure the SUV values from normal skeletons in NaF18-PET/CT bone scans. METHODS A retrospective study was carried out involving NaF18- PET/CT bone scans that were done at our institution between January 2010 to May 2012. Our excluding criteria was patients with abnormal real function and patients with past history of cancer and metabolic bone diseases including but not limited to osteoporosis, osteopenia and Paget's disease. Eleven studies met all the criteria. RESULTS The average normal SUVmax values from 11 patients were: cervical vertebrae 6.84 (range 4.38-8.64), thoracic vertebrae 7.36 (range 6.99-7.66), lumbar vertebrae 7.27 (range 7.04-7.72), femoral head 2.22 (range 1.1-4.3), humeral head 1.82 (range 1.2-2.9), mid sternum 5.51 (range 2.6-8.1), parietal bone 1.71 (range 1.3-2.4). CONCLUSION According to our study, various skeletal sites have different normal SUV values. SUV values can be different between the normal bones and bones with tumor or metabolic bone disease. SUV can be used to quantify NaF-18 PET/CT studies. If the SUV values of the normal skeleton are known, they can be used in the characterization of bone lesions and in the assessment of treatment response to bone diseases.