title: Serum tumor markers and PET/CT imaging for tumor recurrence detection.
abstract: When confronted with a suspicious rise in CA 15.3 in asymptomatic breast cancer patients following primary treatment and negative or equivocal conventional imaging findings, FDG PET/CT allows assessment of the site and extent of the recurring disease with an accuracy of 83%. Both FDG PET and FDG PET/CT are superior when compared to CT alone for the purpose of recurrence detection in patients suffering from ovarian carcinoma who have completed primary therapy but demonstrate a rising serum CA-125 level. As the global accuracy of CT alone for detection of recurrence of ovarian cancer approximates 80%, CT scan should be performed upfront to identify the site of recurrence. When confronted with negative or equivocal CT findings, FDG PET alone or FDG PET/CT should be added. In patients with rising serum CEA levels that have undergone primary treatment for a colorectal carcinoma, both FDG PET and FDG PET/CT allow detection of tumor recurrence with an accuracy of 95%, well above that of CT and MRI. Available studies further suggest that FDG/PET findings will affect treatment management in 28-50% of these patients. The detection rate of both 11C-choline and 18F-choline PET and PET/CT for local, regional, and distant recurrence in prostate carcinoma patients with a biochemical recurrence increases with rising PSA value at the time of imaging and reaches about 75% in patients with PSA > 3 ng/mL. Furthermore, PET and PET/CT with [11C]- and [18F]-choline derivates may be helpful in the clinical setting for optimization of individualized treatment.
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hopsital Ghent, De Pintelaan 185 B, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. vibeke.kruse@uzgent.be
authors: Vibeke
authors: V
authors: Kruse
authors: Veronique
authors: V
authors: Cocquyt
authors: Marleen
authors: M
authors: Borms
authors: Alex
authors: A
authors: Maes
authors: Christophe
authors: C
authors: Van de Wiele
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012008:Recurrence; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor