Is cerebral glucose metabolism affected by chemotherapy in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma?

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of chemotherapy treatment with ABVD on brain glucose metabolism in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD). Methods A total of 49 patients (23 men, 26 women; mean age 32±9 years) diagnosed with HD were included in the study. All of them underwent a baseline (PET0) and an interim (PET2) 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) brain scan. All patients were treated after PET0 with two cycles of ABVD consisting of doxorubicin (adriamycin), bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine for 2 months. Thirty-five patients were evaluated further 15±6 days after four additional cycles (PET6). Differences in brain 18F-FDG uptake were analyzed by statistical parametric mapping (SPM2). Results Compared with PET0, PET2 showed a significantly higher metabolic activity in the right angular gyrus (Brodmann area 39) and a significant metabolic reduction in Brodmann areas 10, 11, and 32 bilaterally. All these changes disappeared at PET6. Conclusion Our results support the conclusion of a very limited impact of ABVD chemotherapy on brain metabolism in patients with HD.