Positron-Emission Tomography and Assessment of Cancer Therapy

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 354; no. 5; pp. 496 - 507
• Main Authors: Juweid, Malik E, Cheson, Bruce D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 02.02.2006
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cost-Benefit Analysis; False Positive Reactions; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; General aspects; Humans; Medical sciences; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasm Staging - methods; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - therapy; Positron-Emission Tomography - economics; Radiation Dosage; Radionuclide study; Medicine; Treatment; Malignant tumor; Positron emission tomography; Emission tomography
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra050276

Positron-emission tomography has become an important tool for evaluating tumors, detecting occult cancer, and staging and restaging tumors. This review includes a slideshow with scans from 10 patients with common cancers. Positron-emission tomography (PET) is a noninvasive imaging technique that exploits the unique decay physics of positron-emitting isotopes. The isotopes of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and fluorine have been used in the development of diagnostically useful biologic compounds that are available for PET imaging in order to provide a functional or metabolic assessment of normal tissues or disease conditions. The past few years have seen a tremendous expansion of clinical applications of PET, particularly in oncology, mostly with the use of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) as the PET tracer. PET with 18 F-FDG is now being used in the evaluation of several neoplasms, both . . .