title: Whole body PET/CT for initial staging of choroidal melanoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the value of whole body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in screening for metastatic choroidal melanoma in patients initially diagnosed with choroidal melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  52 patients with choroidal melanoma underwent whole body PET/CT as part of their metastatic investigation. PET/CT scans were used as a screening tool at the time of their initial diagnosis. A physical examination, liver function tests, and a baseline chest x ray were also obtained. PET/CT images (utilising intravenous18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)) were studied for the presence of metastatic melanoma. The standards for reference were further imaging and/or subsequent biopsies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two of 52 (3.8%) patients were found to have metastatic melanoma before treatment. The most common sites for metastases were the liver (100%), bone (50%), and lymph nodes (50%). Brain involvement was also present in one patient. One patient (50%) had involvement of multiple sites. Haematological liver enzyme assays were normal in both patients. PET/CT showed false positive results in three patients (5.7%) when further evaluated by histopathology and/or additional imaging. In seven patients (13.4%) PET/CT imaging detected benign lesions in the bone, lung, lymph nodes, colon, and rectum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PET/CT imaging can be used as a screening tool for the detection and localisation of metastatic choroidal melanoma. Liver enzyme assays did not identify liver metastases, while PET/CT revealed both hepatic and extrahepatic metastatic melanoma. PET/CT imaging may improve upon the conventional methods of screening for detection of metastatic disease in patients initially diagnosed with choroidal melanoma.
authors.affiliation: The New York Eye Cancer Center, 115 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10021, USA. pfinger@eyecancer.com
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Finger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Tena
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pavlick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18