title: Recommendations of the Spanish Societies of Radiation Oncology (SEOR), Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SEMNiM), and Medical Physics (SEFM) on (18)F-FDG PET-CT for radiotherapy treatment planning.
abstract: Positron emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is a valuable tool for diagnosing and staging malignant lesions. The fusion of PET and computed tomography (CT) yields images that contain both metabolic and morphological information, which, taken together, have improved the diagnostic precision of PET in oncology. The main imaging modality for planning radiotherapy treatment is CT. However, PET-CT is an emerging modality for use in planning treatments because it allows for more accurate treatment volume definition. The use of PET-CT for treatment planning is highly complex, and protocols and standards for its use are still being developed. It seems probable that PET-CT will eventually replace current CT-based planning methods, but this will require a full understanding of the relevant technical aspects of PET-CT planning. The aim of the present document is to review these technical aspects and to provide recommendations for clinical use of this imaging modality in the radiotherapy planning process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Spain.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Caballero Perea
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, CIBIR, Logroño, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio Cabrera
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Villegas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José Miguel Delgado
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: María José García
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Velloso
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana María García
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vicente
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Hospital Universitario La Paz de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos Huerga
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cabrerizo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa Morera
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis Alberto Pérez
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Romasanta
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Spain.
authors.forename: Moisés Sáez
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Beltrán
keywords: CT; Contouring; Delineation; PET; PET-CT; Radiotherapy planning