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PET/CT for Staging and Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

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Advances in Radiation Oncology in Lung Cancer

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging technique, which allows for accurate non-invasive measurements of metabolic pathways in tissues of man in vivo. The most frequently used tracer in PET oncology is the glucose analog 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (FDG). The preferential accumulation of FDG in neoplastic cells permits differentiation between benign and malignant tissue. The ability to perform whole-body imaging within one examination without increasing the radiation burden makes it an ideal technique to “screen” patients for cancer deposits. Also in thoracic oncology, FDG-PET has proven its superiority over other imaging techniques in staging nodal and metastatic disease. However, the poor anatomic detail of PET can lead to errors in diagnosis and staging. Through the integration of computer tomography (CT) and PET into one machine, form and function are merged to create a better imaging tool. In this chapter, we will highlight the recent developments in hybrid machinery (time-of-flight PET, PET-MR) and review the role of integrated PET/CT in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium

    Sigrid Stroobants

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  1. Sigrid Stroobants
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Correspondence to Sigrid Stroobants .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Lung Diseases, Institutski put 4, Sremska Kamenica, 21204, Serbia

    Branislav Jeremic

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Stroobants, S. (2011). PET/CT for Staging and Diagnosis of Lung Cancer. In: Jeremic, B. (eds) Advances in Radiation Oncology in Lung Cancer. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_323

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_323

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-19924-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-19925-7

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