Journal Article DKFZ-2026-00070

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Prognostic Value of Fibroblast Activation Protein-Directed PET Imaging in Pleural Mesothelioma.

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2026
Soc. New York, NY

Journal of nuclear medicine nn, nn () [10.2967/jnumed.125.270906]
 GO

Abstract: High expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) has been associated with inferior survival in several tumor entities. Novel 68Ga-radiolabeled FAP inhibitors (68Ga-FAPIs) allow noninvasive measurement of FAP, which enables the development of prognostic imaging parameters from 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT. In this study, we compared the prognostic value of 68Ga-FAPI-46 with 18F-FDG PET in a cohort of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma from the FAPI PET observational trial (NCT04571086). Methods: Between May 2020 and January 2024, 49 patients with suspected or proven malignant mesothelioma were recruited, 39 of whom were eligible for data analysis. All patients underwent 68Ga-FAPI-46 and 18F-FDG PET/CT less than 4 wk apart. Tumor burden was measured semiautomatically, and SUVmax, SUVmean, and volumetric parameters (metabolic tumor volume [MTV], total lesion glycolysis/total lesion fibroblast activation, and total tumor SUV) were calculated. The FAP immunoreactive score (IRS) was calculated for tumor samples from a subset of patients (n = 19). Overall survival and progression-free survival were assessed per revised mRECIST (version 1.1). Survival analyses were performed with univariate and multivariate Cox regression and with Kaplan-Meier curves for clinical and imaging parameters, stratified by median. Results: Univariate analysis showed significant survival differences for all volumetric parameters for 68Ga-FAPI-46 and 18F-FDG (e.g., 68Ga-FAPI-46 MTV, 262 d vs. 737 d; P = 0.008 vs. 18F-FDG MTV, 336 d vs. 760 d; P = 0.012). Multivariate analysis revealed that MTV was an independent prognostic marker for 68Ga-FAPI-46 (hazard ratio, 4.44; 95% CI, 1.20-16.43; P = 0.025) and 18F-FDG (hazard ratio, 7.01; 95% CI, 1.29-38.2; P = 0.024). Kaplan-Meier analysis of the FAP IRS found that a higher IRS was associated with poorer survival (438 d with an IRS of 0-3 vs. 1,076 d with an IRS of 4-12; P = 0.04), but no significant difference was observed in univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusion: In this modest exploratory cohort of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, MTV determined by 68Ga-FAPI-46 and 18F-FDG PET/CT had similar prognostic value, and high MTV was an independent risk factor. 68Ga-FAPI-46 not only complements a diagnostic work-up but also provides prognostic value and could offer alternative theranostic strategies for these patients.

Keyword(s): FAPI ; cancer imaging ; fibroblast activation protein ; mesothelioma ; theranostic

Classification:

Note: #DKTKZFB9# / #NCTZFB26# / epub

Contributing Institute(s):
  1. DKTK Koordinierungsstelle Essen/Düsseldorf (ED01)
  2. Koordinierungsstelle NCT West (WT01)
  3. Koordinierungsstelle NCT Dresden (DD04)
Research Program(s):
  1. 899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899) (POF4-899)

Appears in the scientific report 2026
Database coverage:
Medline ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Clinical Medicine ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF >= 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection
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 Record created 2026-01-09, last modified 2026-01-10



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