A Comparative Study of the Hypoxia PET Tracers [18F]HX4, [18F]FAZA, and [18F]FMISO in a Preclinical Tumor Model

PurposeSeveral individual clinical and preclinical studies have shown the possibility of evaluating tumor hypoxia by using noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET). The current study compared 3 hypoxia PET tracers frequently used in the clinic, [18F]FMISO, [18F]FAZA, and [18F]HX4, in a preclinical tumor model. Tracer uptake was evaluated for the optimal time point for imaging, tumor-to-blood ratios (TBR), spatial reproducibility, and...