Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated the physiological uptake range of (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) in the normal ovaries of seven dogs using positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The dogs were subjected to general anesthesia and were positioned in ventral recumbency for PET/CT scans. The dosage of (18)F-FDG ranged from 0.14 to 0.17 mCi/kg and was administered intravenously followed by 0.9% NaCl flushing; PET/CT images of each dog were obtained precisely 60 min after the injection of (18)F-FDG. The regions of interest were drawn manually, and standardized uptake values (SUV) were calculated to evaluate the (18)F-FDG uptake in each ovary. The maximum and mean SUVs (SUV max and SUV mean) for all the ovaries of the dogs were then computed. RESULTS: The range of SUV max and SUV mean of the normal ovaries of the dogs were 1.28-1.62 and 1.07-1.31 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to investigate the normal (18)F-FDG uptake baseline data of normal canine ovaries using PET/CT scans. These data will help clinicians in identifying malignant tumors before anatomical changes in the ovary through PET/CT scans.