Clinical nuclear medicine
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Clinical nuclear medicine · May 2014
Anatomic and metabolic evaluation of peripheral nerve sheath tumors in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 using whole-body MRI and (18)F-FDG PET fusion.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are the leading cause of death for patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Identification of hypermetabolic lesions on PET may help identify patients at risk for MPNST. The objective of this study was to identify clinical and MRI-derived variables that predicted increased metabolic activity of neurofibromas in NF1 patients as determined by PET. ⋯ In NF1 patients with neurofibromas of 5 cm or greater, the majority of internal tumors are not metabolically active on PET. Tumors with increased metabolic activity as defined by SUVmax greater than 2.5 (ie, suggestive of MPNST) are more likely to be deep and located within the trunk.