title: Whole-body 18F FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography evaluation of patients with uveal metastasis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the value of whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) as a screening tool for patients with uveal metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective observational case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  setting: Clinical practice. study population: Eighteen patients with uveal metastatic tumors were evaluated. Patients had no history of malignancy or a past medical history of malignancy without known active metastasis or known systemic cancer. intervention: Whole-body PET/CT was used as a screening tool to evaluate the intraocular tumor, to evaluate for multi-organ metastatic disease, and for cancer staging. main outcome measures: Detection and PET/CT uptake of primary tumors and metastatic disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PET/CT imaging uncovered previously occult primary nonocular cancers (11/18, 61%), revealed progression of known primary systemic cancer (7/18, 39%), and confirmed multi-organ metastases in all cases (18/18, 100%). PET/CT findings were used to direct nonocular, confirmatory biopsy in 67% of cases (12/18). No uveal biopsies were required. PET/CT revealed lymph nodes and bone as the most common metastatic sites. The intraocular tumor was detectable in 28% of cases. Small, non-avid tumors and those within the hypermetabolic, PET-avid brain were falsely negative.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that whole-body PET/CT can be useful for clinical evaluation of patients with uveal metastases. It allowed for screening of the entire body and directed extraocular biopsy. Commonly used for tumor staging, PET/CT aided in the detection of the primary cancer in patients with metastatic uveal tumors.
authors.affiliation: New York Eye Cancer Center and New York University School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Payal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Finger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D018328:Melanoma, Amelanotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014604:Uveal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18