Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine protease that belongs to the dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) family located in fibroblast membranes. FAP is overexpressed in the cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of 90% epithelial carcinomas, including primary and metastatic liver cancer. Therefore, FAP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals can be considered a promising approach for the visualization of CAFs. CAFs are crucial component of tumor stroma, promote the growth of cancer cells and are associated with poor prognosis. Currently, Gallium 68 (68Ga)-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) has shown promising diagnostic value in many types of tumors, including lung cancer, gastric carcinomas, peritoneal carcinomas. However, there are currently no studies on head-to-head comparison of diagnosis value of various types of cancer in 18F-FAPI and 18F-FDG PET/CT. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to investigate the value of 18F-FAPI PET/CT in various types of cancer, and compare it with 18F-FDG PET/CT.
FAP is overexpressed in the cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of 90% epithelial carcinomas. Currently, 68Ga-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) has shown promising diagnostic value in many types of tumors. However, there are currently no studies on head-to-head comparison of diagnosis value of various types of cancer in 18F-FAPI and 18F-FDG PET/CT. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to investigate the value of 18F-FAPI PET/CT in various types of cancer, and compare it with 18F-FDG PET/CT.