Gene Expression Profiling of Colorectal Cancer by Correlation with ¹⁸F-FDG Kinetics as Measured by Dynamic Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (dPET-CT): Dependency on Cadherin-Related Genes and Hypoxia

Caixia Cheng, Sven Klippel, Dirk Koczan, Stefan Willis, Leyun Pan, Christos Sachpekidis and Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss

Department of Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center, Germany

^*Correspondance to: Caixia Cheng 

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Abstract:

Purpose: The kinetics of ¹⁸F-FDG as measured by dPET-CT is determined by glucose transporters and hexokinases, which may be regulated by other genes. The dependency of ¹⁸F-FDG kinetics on hypoxia- and cadherin-related gene expression was assessed in this study. Procedures: Patients with colorectal tumors (n = 18) were studied with ¹⁸F-FDG dPET-CT. Tissue specimens were obtained from the tumor and the normal colon during the process of surgery, and then gene expression was examined using gene arrays. The dynamic PET data were assessed using compartmental (a two-tissue compartment model) and non-compartmental models (fractal dimension).
Results: Overall, 13 hypoxia- and cadherin-related genes were identified with a tumor-to-normal ratio exceeding 2.0. The number of significant correlation was different for each PET parameter using a significance level of p <0.05. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between K1 and H-cadherin 13 (CDH13) (r = 0.92) as well as between the Fractal Dimension (FD) and Protocadherin 43 (PCDHGC3) (r = 0.63). Furthermore, we detected a significant correlation between FD and Protocadherin gamma subfamily B, 7 (PCDHGB7) (r = 0.60), as well as between K1 and protocadherin 17 (PCDH17) (r = 0.55). SUV was correlated with protocadherin beta 17 (PCDHB17) with r = 0.56. A correlation coefficient of r = 0.42 was found for K1 and the expression of hypoxia-inducible protein 2 (HIG2).
Conclusion: The transport rate for ¹⁸F-FDG (K1) is higher in tumors with a high expression of cadherin- and hypoxia-related genes. The parameters of ¹⁸F-FDG dPET kinetics may be used to predict the expression of hypoxia and cadherin-related genes individually.

Keywords:

Gene expression; DPET-CT; Colorectal tumor; Hypoxia; Cadherin

Cite the Article:

Cheng C, Klippel S, Koczan D, Willis S, Pan L, Sachpekidis C, et al. Gene Expression Profiling of Colorectal Cancer by Correlation with 18F-FDG Kinetics as Measured by Dynamic Positron Emission Tomography- Computed Tomography (dPET-CT): Dependency on Cadherin-Related Genes and Hypoxia. Clin Oncol. 2017;2: 1179.