title: Can PET/CT replace separate diagnostic CT for cancer imaging? Optimizing CT protocols for imaging cancers of the chest and abdomen.
abstract: Stage-adapted treatment in oncology relies on correct tumor staging for patients with malignant diseases. To ensure accurate assessment of the tumor stage in thoracic and abdominal diseases by PET/CT, both CT and PET need to be optimized. In this setting, different malignant diseases require customized imaging protocols. Although in the clinical setting of therapy assessment, PET/CT with integration of low-dose, nonenhanced CT may be sufficient, tumor staging may require a more sophisticated CT protocol. This review focuses on potential CT protocols for imaging cancers of the chest and abdomen. Examples of CT protocols are presented and discussed for non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and interventional liver therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hilmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuehl
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veit
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bockisch
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antoch
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013899:Thoracic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media