1. Positron-emission tomography in gynaecologic malignancies
- Author
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Alessandra Musto, Elena Cracco, Charoula Stavroula Tsamita, Maria Cristina Marzola, Cristina Nanni, Michela Piva, Stefano Fanti, Adil Al-Nahhas, Anna Margherita Maffione, Valentina Ambrosini, Gaia Grassetto, Arianna Massaro, Paolo Castellucci, Egesta Lopci, Domenico Rubello, Lucia Rampin, Maffione A.M., Piva M., Tsamita C.S., Nanni C., Castellucci P., Ambrosini V., Lopci E., Musto A., Rampin L., Grassetto G., Marzola M.C., Massaro A., Cracco E., Al-Nahhas A., Fanti S., and Rubello D.
- Subjects
Oncology ,Cervical cancer ,PET-CT ,medicine.medical_specialty ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Genital Neoplasms, Female ,Endometrial cancer ,Carcinoma ,Obstetrics and Gynecology ,Sarcoma ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Imaging Tool ,Positron emission tomography ,Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ,Internal medicine ,Positron-Emission Tomography ,medicine ,Humans ,Female ,Radiology ,Ovarian cancer ,business - Abstract
The role of (18)F-FDG PET in the management of gynaecologic malignancies remains unclear mainly due to the failure of clinicians to appreciate the significance of this imaging tool. However, this under utilisation is being actively re-addressed with a large number of reviews and studies, particularly in the last few years.PET has been shown to have high sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of relapse and nodal disease in cervical cancer, while other uses such as staging and monitoring response to therapies being under further investigation. Similarly, promising results have been published in the use of PET in patients affected by endometrial cancer and uterine sarcomas for detecting lymph nodes metastasis and recurrent disease. In ovarian cancer, PET appears to have a great potential in staging and assessment of disease relapse. An important utility of PET in gynaecologic tumours, which is shared with a large number of other malignancies, is its value in positively changing the patients' management.The surge in studies using PET in gynaecological malignancies is in its early stages, and further studies are required to optimise the role of PET in these conditions.
- Published
- 2008