The effect of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography on the management of cutaneous malignant melanoma.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on the treatment of patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 38 patients with newly diagnosed (n = 25) and recurrent (n = 13) cutaneous melanoma who were referred for evaluation with FDG PET imaging at our institution. We compared the PET findings with computed tomography (CT), which was available in 21 (55%) patients, and tabulated the changes in the diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic management that were prompted by PET during a follow-up period of 10 to 36 months.


RESULTS
Compared with PET, the extent of disease was underestimated by CT in 5 (13%) patients. Planned surgical resection of metastases was canceled in two of these patients. In another patient, surveillance PET detected an unsuspected hypermetabolic abdominal mass that was noted on a subsequent CT to arise from the small bowel. The mass was found to be jejunal metastatic melanoma at the time of resection. Overall, PET influenced surgical management in 3 (8%) patients, but it did not affect the wait-and-watch strategy or decision to initiate immunotherapy in the others.


CONCLUSIONS
FDG PET contributes important information not provided by CT and has a substantial effect on the clinical management of patients with malignant melanoma.
Jadvar
H
H
Nuclear Medicine Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, California 94304, USA.
Johnson
D L
DL
Segall
G M
GM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003847:Deoxyglucose; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D003847:Deoxyglucose