PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Positron emission tomography using 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG-PET) is well established in clinical routine as a metabolism-based whole-body imaging tool for cancer diagnosis and follow-up. Several reports have appeared indicating the potential and limitations of this technique in head and neck cancer (HNC). This review limits its scope to the recent advances using 18FDG-PET in the clinical management of HNC. RECENT FINDINGS: The combination of 18FDG-PET and sentinel node biopsy has been explored for the surgical treatment planning of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Recent reports indicate that multimodality imaging combining PET with high-end CT scanning increases the diagnostic accuracy. 18FDG-PET has a potential for use in radiation treatment planning and for the prediction of response and early evaluation of treatment efficacy. SUMMARY: Increasingly 18FDG-PET is used as a clinical imaging modality in the different stages of the management of HNC. In particular, its clinical value in initial staging of neck lymph nodes and in the evaluation of recurrent or residual disease is well established. In these settings 18FDG-PET has been shown to be more accurate than conventional imaging. Recent studies indicate that 18FDG-PET could be of additional value in staging the N0 neck, in radiation treatment planning, and in prediction of treatment efficacy.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Positron emission tomography using 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG-PET) is well established in clinical routine as a metabolism-based whole-body imaging tool for cancer diagnosis and follow-up. Several reports have appeared indicating the potential and limitations of this technique in head and neck cancer (HNC). This review limits its scope to the recent advances using 18FDG-PET in the clinical management of HNC. RECENT FINDINGS: The combination of 18FDG-PET and sentinel node biopsy has been explored for the surgical treatment planning of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Recent reports indicate that multimodality imaging combining PET with high-end CT scanning increases the diagnostic accuracy. 18FDG-PET has a potential for use in radiation treatment planning and for the prediction of response and early evaluation of treatment efficacy. SUMMARY: Increasingly 18FDG-PET is used as a clinical imaging modality in the different stages of the management of HNC. In particular, its clinical value in initial staging of neck lymph nodes and in the evaluation of recurrent or residual disease is well established. In these settings 18FDG-PET has been shown to be more accurate than conventional imaging. Recent studies indicate that 18FDG-PET could be of additional value in staging the N0 neck, in radiation treatment planning, and in prediction of treatment efficacy.
Authors: Francisco J Civantos; Robert P Zitsch; David E Schuller; Amit Agrawal; Russell B Smith; Richard Nason; Guy Petruzelli; Christine G Gourin; Richard J Wong; Robert L Ferris; Adel El Naggar; John A Ridge; Randal C Paniello; Kouros Owzar; Linda McCall; Douglas B Chepeha; Wendell G Yarbrough; Jeffrey N Myers Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2010-02-08 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Jessica Clark; Caroline C Jeffery; Han Zhang; Tim Cooper; Daniel A O'Connell; Jeffrey Harris; Hadi Seikaly; Vincent L Biron Journal: J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2015-09-15
Authors: Rebecca S M Lim; Shakher Ramdave; Paul Beech; Baki Billah; Md Nazmul Karim; Julian A Smith; Adnan Safdar; Elizabeth Sigston Journal: Cancer Imaging Date: 2016-11-08 Impact factor: 3.909
Authors: L van der Putten; O S Hoekstra; R de Bree; D J Kuik; E F I Comans; J A Langendijk; C R Leemans Journal: Mol Imaging Biol Date: 2008-07-12 Impact factor: 3.488