• Nucl Med Commun · Feb 2013

    Optimal timing of post-treatment [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT for patients with head and neck malignancy.

    • Shin Nakamura, Akira Toriihara, Kiyoshi Okochi, Hiroshi Watanabe, Hitoshi Shibuya, and Tohru Kurabayashi.
    • Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. shin.orad@tmd.ac.jp
    • Nucl Med Commun. 2013 Feb 1; 34 (2): 162-7.

    ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to evaluate the ability of [F]fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) to identify tumor recurrence, nodal metastases, and distant metastases for surveillance and discuss the optimal timing of F-FDG-PET/CT examination after the completion of treatment for head and neck malignancy.MethodsA total of 319 patients who underwent a post-treatment F-FDG-PET/CT examination for head and neck malignancy were studied. F-FDG-PET/CT findings were compared with the final diagnosis confirmed by histopathological examinations or clinical and radiological follow-up for at least 6 months. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of clinical suspicion of recurrent disease. The diagnostic accuracy of F-FDG-PET/CT was analyzed for each group. Patients were also categorized according to the time interval between the completion of treatment and the post-treatment F-FDG-PET/CT examination. Differences in diagnostic accuracy due to the time interval were also evaluated.ResultsThe diagnostic accuracy of F-FDG-PET/CT was high for both groups. The overall accuracy of F-FDG-PET/CT performed within 2 months (69%) after the completion of treatment was significantly inferior to that performed after 2 months (93%).ConclusionF-FDG-PET should be performed immediately for patients with clinically suspected recurrent disease. In others, it should be performed at later than 2 months after the completion of the treatment.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.