title: Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET in characterizing solitary pulmonary nodules, assessing pleural diseases, and the initial staging, restaging, therapy planning, and monitoring response of lung cancer.
abstract: Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET imaging has secured an important role in the assessment and management of a multitude of pulmonary disorders, including solitary pulmonary nodules, lung cancer, and pleural diseases. While conventional imaging modalities such as chest radiography and CT are considered essential in these settings, FDG-PET can provide new information and complement structural imaging techniques in the evaluation of such disorders. In this review, the authors present a growing body of evidence that demonstrates and supports the utility of FDG-PET in the differentiation of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, the assessment of lung cancer in various stages of disease, and the characterization of pleural diseases. In addition, new developments--such as prospects for potential utility of novel radiotracers and delayed imaging--that can further refine the role of FDG scans in the work-up of lung nodules and cancer and forecast the future place of PET in these common modalities are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Ayse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mavi
authors.forename: Paras
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lakhani
authors.forename: Hongming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Naresh C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Abass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alavi
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010995:Pleural Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18