The use and misuse of positron emission tomography in lung cancer evaluation

Clin Chest Med. 2011 Dec;32(4):749-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ccm.2011.08.012.

Abstract

This article discusses the potential benefits and limitations of positron emission tomography (PET) for characterizing lung nodules, staging the mediastinum, identifying occult distant metastasis, determining prognosis and treatment response, guiding plans for radiation therapy, restaging during and after treatment, and selecting targets for tissue sampling. The key findings from the medical literature are presented regarding the capabilities and fallibilities of PET in lung cancer evaluation, including characterization of pulmonary nodules and staging in patients with known or suspected non-small-cell lung cancer. The discussion is limited to PET imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / diagnostic imaging*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / therapy
  • Diagnostic Errors
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Health Services Misuse
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Lung Neoplasms / therapy
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / diagnostic imaging
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Positron-Emission Tomography* / statistics & numerical data
  • Prognosis
  • Radiopharmaceuticals

Substances

  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18