Lymph node assessment in cervical cancer: current approaches.

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common neoplasia in women worldwide. Although early-stage CC is often curable, 40 to 50% of patients are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage. Metastatic disease accounts for the principal cause of death.

Staging of primary cervical cancers: the role of nuclear medicine.

In nuclear medicine, [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) and lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy (LM/SL) may significantly improve the staging of primary cervical cancers. Indeed, the disease progresses in a 'level by level' fashion to regional nodes through the lymphatic channels, and also to extra-nodal sites via the hematogenous stream. Additionally, the sub-optimal efficacy of routine radiological protocols, while new combined therapies are proving to be more efficient, stresses the need for alternative staging procedures.

Contribution of whole-body 18FDG PET imaging in the management of cervical cancer.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the contribution of [(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography ((18)FDG PET) imaging in the management of cervical cancer.

Methods: Fully corrected whole-body PET was performed in 60 patients (pts) with proven cervical cancer. In pretreatment staging, 22 pts underwent PET in addition to routine protocol including International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) staging and pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).