[The role of PET scan in gastrointestinal stromal tumors].
Abdominal CT is considered the imaging method of choice for the staging and treatment monitoring of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST). The role of Whole-body FDG-PET seems limited for staging because of the low rate of extra-abdominal tumoral involvement and lower sensitivity than CT. However, PET provides assessment of therapeutic response to imatinib as early as 8 days after treatment is begun. The decrease in the metabolic tumor activity is often marked and intense and it is easier to evaluate than changes in tumor shrinkage and density measured on CT. PET may also be useful when morphological findings are unclear, treatment efficacy uncertain or when progression is identified on CT scan, especially when these findings do not agree with clinical data. PET and CT are complementary and hybrid PET/CT systems have been shown to be useful in GIST. PET may be proposed for the assessment of treatment response in prospective studies with imatinib or other molecules. In patients with GIST, FDG-PET should be performed based on a pluridisciplinary decision.
Alberini
Jean-Louis
JL
Service de Médecine Nucléaire; Centre René Huguenin CRLCC, 35 rue Dailly, 92210 Saint-Cloud. alberini@crh1.org
Al Nakib
Malik
M
Wartski
Myriam
M
Gontier
Eric
E
Cvitkovic
Frédérique
F
Rixe
Olivier
O
Rougier
Philippe
P
Pecking
Alain-Paul
AP
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001549:Benzamides; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate