title: 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography in target volume definition for radiotherapy of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the potential contribution of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in radiotherapy planning for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) considering new concepts on target volume definition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recent investigations on the topic are reviewed with regard to current concepts of target volume definition for NSCLC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As intrathoracic recurrence is the leading cause of death after primary radiotherapy of NSCLC, there is a need for improving local control by escalating treatment intensity to gross disease. The value of elective nodal irradiation (ENI), resembling prophylactic irradiation of macroscopically unaffected parts of the mediastinum, is being considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As FDG-PET has been shown to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT), and to have a potentially high impact on the identification of malignant tissue, it should be implicated in prospective clinical trials on dose escalation and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, especially in those including a reduction of target volumes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nestle
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hellwig
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Licht
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ukena
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rübe
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: Carl Martin
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kirsch