title: Role of PET/CT in the evaluation of cervical cancer.
abstract: PET imaging utilizes a dedicated camera system with multiple positron detector rings. PET/CT precisely aligns and combines metabolic PET mages with anatomical CT images, and is being increasingly preffered over PET scanning alone. FDG is the most widely used radiotracer in the management of cancer patients, and the prototypical PET/CT protocol used in other cancers can also be applied to the management of cervical carcinoma patients. The applications of PET/CT in cervical cancer patients include: assessing local tumor extension (information on metabolic tumor activity and possible endometrial involvement), evaluating pelvic nodal involvement (even in cases with negative CT or MRI studies), detection of distant metastases (PET/CT should be the first imaging technique used to evaluate extrapelvic disease before pelvic exenteration), radiation therapy planning (in patiens with PET scans positive for lymph nodes), identification of persistent/recurrent disease (especially in assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy and prognosis (with an inverse response-survival relationship.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Tecnológico PET-M.D. Anderson International España, Madrid, Spain. jover_raq@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jover
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lourido
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rojo
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gorospe
authors.forename: José Miguel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Alfonso
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18