Pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers

• Published in: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 727; p. 243
• Main Authors: Buck, Andreas K, Herrmann, Ken, Eckel, Florian, Beer, Ambros J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2011
• Subjects: Biliary Tract Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Biliary Tract Neoplasms - pathology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - diagnostic imaging; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Dihydroxyphenylalanine - analogs & derivatives; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Liver Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Middle Aged; Octreotide - analogs & derivatives; Organometallic Compounds; Pancreas - diagnostic imaging; Pancreas - pathology; Pancreatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Radiopharmaceuticals
• ISSN: 1940-6029
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-062-1_14

Morphology-based imaging modalities have replaced classical conventional nuclear medicine modalities for detection of liver or pancreatic lesions. With positron emission tomography and the glucose analog F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a sensitive and specific modality for the detection of hepatic metastases and extrahepatic tumor deposits from hepatocellular or pancreatic cancer is available. F-18 FDG PET can increase the accuracy of staging primary tumors of the liver or the pancreas, and can be used for response monitoring. Radiopharmaceuticals such as Ga-68 DOTATOC and F-18 DOPA allow the specific detection of neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors and their metastatic deposits. Hybrid scanners such as PET-CT integrate morphologic and metabolic information, and allow to increase the sensitivity and specificity of noninvasive imaging in many tumor entities. The development of specific radiopharmaceuticals and technical innovations such as SPECT-CT has increased the reliability of conventional scintigraphic imaging. This chapter focuses on the use of PET-CT in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers.