title: 18F-FDG PET in the diagnosis and treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma.
abstract: This paper summarizes the usefulness and limitation of positron emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) in the diagnosis and treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). The (18)F-FDG uptake in typical PCNSL is about 2.5 times higher than that in the normal gray matter, and the tumor can usually be identified visually. The (18)F-FDG uptake pattern and value provide useful information for differentiating PCNSL from other enhancing malignant brain tumors especially glioblastoma (GB). The (18)F-FDG uptake in typical PCNSL is usually homogenous, and the uptake value is significantly higher than that in GB. However, (18)F-FDG PET often fails to show the presence of tumor in the brain as (18)F-FDG uptake is faint in atypical PCNSL such as disseminated or nonenhancing lesions. (18)F-FDG PET is also useful for evaluating the treatment response at a very early stage after the initial treatment. Pretreatment and posttreatment (18)F-FDG uptake values may have a prognostic value in patients with PCNSL. In conclusion, (18)F-FDG PET is very useful in the diagnosis of typical PCNSL and can differentiate PCNSL from other malignant brain tumors. However, the usefulness of (18)F-FDG PET is limited in the diagnosis of atypical PCNSL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Kagawa, Japan. nobu@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamiya
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18