The Incremental Added Value of Including the Head in (18)F-FDG PET/CT Imaging for Cancer Patients.

Purpose: To assess the value of extending the routinely used base-of-skull (BOS) to upper-thigh field of view (FOV) to include the head on (18)F-FDG PET/CT in cancer patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1000 consecutive top-of-head to foot PET/CT studies. Abnormalities above BOS were categorized as unsuspected or known and were correlated with pathology, MRI/CT, and clinical follow-up.

FDG PET/CT incidental diagnosis of a synchronous bladder cancer as a fourth malignancy in a patient with head and neck cancer.

A 74-year-old man with 40-year history of smoking and known history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma underwent FDG PET/CT examination for a recent diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed from right frontal crown and left posterior ear skin biopsy. PET images revealed multiple FDG-avid lesions in the head and neck, highly suspicious for nodal metastases. Reviewing CT portion of PET/CT examination revealed a hyperattenuating density in the posterior bladder wall.

Whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT: the need for a standardized field of view--a referring-physician aid.

Unlabelled: PET/CT fusion of anatomic and functional imaging modalities is in evolution, with rapid clinical dissemination. The imaged field of view (FOV) selected for whole-body PET/CT protocols is not standardized and varies by institution. Misuse of the term whole body, as well as the pressure to increase the number of daily studies by reducing scanning time, contributes to the lack of standardization.