Accuracy of whole-body dual-modality fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) for tumor staging in solid tumors: comparison with CT and PET.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) when staging different malignant diseases.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective, blinded, investigator-initiated study of 260 patients with various oncological diseases who underwent fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose PET/CT for tumor staging. CT images alone, PET images alone, PET + CT data viewed side by side, and fused PET/CT images were evaluated separately according to the tumor-node-metastasis system.

[Whole-body tumor staging: MRI or FDG-PET/CT?].

Technical innovations such as the availability of movable patient platforms and the introduction of 32-channel systems have made whole-body MRI for tumor staging feasible. In addition, the development of dual-modality PET/CT systems offers the opportunity to perform anatometabolic tumor staging with whole-body coverage in a single session. Based on an increase in patient survival when applying a stage-adapted therapy in different malignant diseases the relevant question relates to the accuracies of whole-body MRI and whole-body PET/CT for TNM staging.

Whole-body fluorine-18 fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in staging of advanced uveal melanoma.

Fluorine-18 fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is an useful tool in diagnosing and monitoring of malignant cutaneous melanoma. However, the feasibility and usefulness of FDG-PET in uveal melanoma is not yet established. We present a patient with suspected advanced uveal melanoma who underwent combined FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) for staging.

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography--imaging protocols, artifacts, and pitfalls.

There has been a longstanding interest in fused images of anatomical information, such as that provided by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, with biological information obtainable by positron emission tomography (PET). The near-simultaneous data acquisition in a fixed combination of a PET and a CT scanner in a combined PET/CT imaging system minimizes spatial and temporal mismatches between the modalities by eliminating the need to move the patient in between exams. In addition, using the fast CT scan for PET attenuation correction, the duration of the examination is significantly reduced compared to standalone PET imaging with standard rod-transmission sources.

Value of (124)I-PET/CT in staging of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical significance of (124)I positron emission tomography (PET) using a combined PET/CT tomograph in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and to compare the PET/CT results with (131)I whole-body scintigraphy (WBS), dedicated PET and CT alone. Twelve thyroid cancer patients were referred for diagnostic workup and entered complete clinical evaluation, including histology, cytology, thyroglobulin level, ultrasonography, fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET, FDG-PET/CT and CT. Lesion-based evaluation showed a lesion delectability of 56, 87 and 100% for CT, (124)I-PET, and combined (124)I-PET/CT imaging, respectively.

Combined PET/CT with iodine-124 in diagnosis of spread metastatic thyroid carcinoma: a case report.

Iodine-124 positron emission tomography (PET) is a useful 3D imaging technique for diagnosis and management of thyroid diseases. The difficulty in interpretation of the PET scans with highly selective tracers, such as iodine-124, is the lack of identifiable anatomical structures, so an accurate anatomical localization of foci presenting abnormal uptake is problematic. Consequently, a combined PET/CT scanner can resolve these difficulties by co-registering PET and CT data in a single session allowing a correlation of functional and morphologic imaging.

Comparison of PET, CT, and dual-modality PET/CT imaging for monitoring of imatinib (STI571) therapy in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Unlabelled: This study was implemented to compare the value of PET, CT, and dual-modality PET/CT imaging for assessing gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) response to imatinib therapy.

Methods: Twenty patients with histologically proven GIST underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT imaging before and 1, 3, and 6 mo after the start of imatinib therapy. Separate PET and CT datasets, side-by-side PET and CT datasets, and fused PET/CT images were evaluated according to World Health Organization, Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer criteria for therapy response.

Intraoperative radiation therapy in liver tissue in a pig model: monitoring with dual-modality PET/CT.

Purpose: To assess, in a pig model, the value of dual-modality positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for monitoring radiation therapy.

Materials And Methods: Central bile duct resection followed by creation of a biliodigestive anastomosis was performed in nine pigs. Six of these pigs were also treated with intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) (20 Gy) in the area of the anastomosis.

To enhance or not to enhance? 18F-FDG and CT contrast agents in dual-modality 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Unlabelled: In combined PET/CT imaging, functional data provided by 18F-FDG increase diagnostic accuracy over conventional PET and CT in a variety of malignancies. The question to be raised is: how much is CT needed in PET/CT imaging?

Discussion: In stand-alone CT imaging, contrast agents are applied to aid differentiation of anatomic structures, improve lesion localization, and support lesion characterization. Based on our experience, the most important benefit when applying CT contrast agents in PET/CT imaging relates to more precise anatomic localization of pathology by differentiation of the lesion from its surrounding structures on CT.

Acquisition protocol considerations for combined PET/CT imaging.

Unlabelled: Since its introduction in 1998, dual-modality PET/CT imaging has received great attention in the medical community. For the first time, patients can be examined with both CT and PET in a single examination. A whole-body survey is the standard mode of acquisition.

Whole-body dual-modality PET/CT and whole-body MRI for tumor staging in oncology.

Context: Deciding on the appropriate therapy for patients with malignant diseases mandates accurate tumor staging with whole-body coverage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a combined modality including positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) provide whole-body tumor staging in a single session.

Objective: To determine the staging accuracies of both whole-body PET/CT and whole-body MRI for different malignant diseases.

FDG-PET/CT in re-staging of patients with lymphoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of combined fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in patients with lymphoma, and to compare the FDG-PET/CT staging results with those of FDG-PET and CT alone. Twenty-seven patients were studied. Each patient had clinical follow-up for >12 months and entered complete follow-up evaluation.

Effect of oral contrast agents on computed tomography-based positron emission tomography attenuation correction in dual-modality positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the effect of iodine- and barium-based contrast agents on the computed tomography (CT)-based positron emission tomography (PET) attenuation correction in dual-modality PET/CT.

Methods: Experiments were conducted on a Society of Nuclear Medicine/National Electrical Manufacturers Association-PET phantom equipped with cylinders containing [18F]-2-fluoro-2-desoxy-D-glucose. The main compartment was filled with iodine (0.

Non-small cell lung cancer: dual-modality PET/CT in preoperative staging.

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of dual-modality positron emission tomographic (PET)-computed tomographic (CT) imaging, as compared with PET alone and CT alone, in the staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-seven patients with NSCLC underwent staging with combined fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET and CT. CT, PET, and coregistered PET/CT images were evaluated separately by two different physicians for each imaging modality, and disease stage was determined by using TNM and American Joint Committee on Cancer staging systems.

[Continously increasing sensitivity in thyroid cancer aftercare in the course of three generations of thyroglobulin IMAs].

Unlabelled: Aim of our study was to evaluate the increasing sensitivity within three generations of thyroglobulin (Tg) assays, which were available during the past decade, and its clinical impact for patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Methods: Determination of Tg using the IRMA introduced in 1989 (Dynotest Tg, Henning Berlin, Berlin; assay A) and 1994 (Selco Tg, Medipan Diagnostica, Selchow; assay B), as well as the IEMA available recently (Medizym Tg Rem, Medipan Diagnostica, Selchow; assay C).

Results: We found a close correlation between the measurable Tg values of assay A and B (r=0.

Diagnosis of labia metastasis by F-18 FDG PET and CT fusion imaging in sarcoma follow-up.

ABSTRACT A 32-year-old woman with a history of pelvic sarcoma underwent whole-body fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomographic (CT) fusion imaging for restaging after primary surgery and adjuvant combined radiation and chemotherapy. Interpreting the PET images alone showed an area of focal tracer accumulation in the pelvic floor and was interpreted as being secondary to urine contamination. Image fusion with fully coregistered CT scans showed a localized site of increased uptake from a metastasis to the labia, which was confirmed by biopsy.

Myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with active acromegaly.

Cardiomyopathy is often seen in patients with a long history of acromegaly. In order to screen for perfusion abnormalities, patients with active acromegaly without evidence for coronary heart disease were examined by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The study included a group of 11 strictly selected patients with active acromegaly (7 males and 4 females; age 51 +/- 12 y [mean +/- S.

Diagnostic value of high-resolution B-mode and power-mode sonography in the follow-up of thyroid cancer.

Objective: Ultrasonography is an established diagnostic modality in the follow-up of thyroid cancer. Color flow Doppler has been proposed by some authors as an additional tool for differentiating benign from malignant cervical lesions in various types of head and neck cancer. Over the last few years, a new generation of high-resolution ultrasound platforms with the "power-mode" feature has become available, that also enables the imaging of small vessel blood flow.

Diagnosis in medullary thyroid cancer with [18F]FDG-PET and improvement using a combined PET/CT scanner.

Today, positron emission tomography (PET) investigation using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the most sensitive and specific single modality established for localizing metastases of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Even at calcitonin serum levels below 20 pg/ml, tumour localization may be successful in individual cases. However, especially in such early tumour stages, the morphological correlation using PET is unsatisfactory.

Diagnosis of a cardiac angiosarcoma by fluorine-18 fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare tumour entity with a poor prognosis. Early detection is difficult but important for the further course of the disease. We report on a young patient with a tumour of unknown origin and dignity of the right atrium.

Whole-body positron emission tomography-CT: optimized CT using oral and IV contrast materials.

Objective: Our objective was to show that oral and IV contrast materials improve CT image quality in dual-modality positron emission tomography (PET) and CT, resulting in an increase in diagnostic capacity. We also present a standardized scanning protocol for whole-body PET-CT with oral and IV contrast materials.

Subjects And Methods: To evaluate the use of whole-body PET-CT in clinical practice, we examined 30 patients according to the protocol.