Focused regional FDG PET/CT detects more osseous metastases than does whole-body PET/CT.
A patient with melanoma underwent FDG PET/CT for surveillance of metastatic disease. The whole-body PET/CT scan demonstrated a single FDG-avid lesion in the left ilium, suggestive of an osseous metastasis. Because there was no corresponding CT abnormality, biopsy was planned using PET/CT guidance. The PET/CT for biopsy guidance focused over a single pelvic bed position demonstrated at least 12 FDG-avid osseous metastases, which were not apparent on the original whole-body PET/CT. This case highlights the limitations of whole-body PET/CT in the detection of small metastases and suggests that a PET/CT focused over a specific body region can improve the sensitivity of detecting small metastases.
Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Alireza
A
Mojtahedi
Steven B
SB
Solomon
Gary A
GA
Ulaner
D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D051598:Whole Body Imaging
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18