Methionine (MET) dependence is a cancer-specific metabolic abnormality that is due to MET overuse for aberrant transmethylation reactions. [11C]-MET is very useful for positron-emission tomography (PET) due to MET overuse in malignant tumors. Many benefits of MET-PET have been demonstrated. MET-PET can differentiate recurrent glioma and necrosis. [11C]-MET-PET can also predict prognosis in gliomas better than [18F]-FDG PET. [11C]-MET-PET is better than MRI for predicting survival in low-grade glioma (LGG). MET-PET has greater specificity for detecting residual tumor after surgery than MRI.
Keywords: Cancer; Hoffman effect; MET-PET; Methionine dependence; Methoinine uptake; PET imaging; Positron-emission tomography; Transmethylation; [11C]-MET.