title: Evaluation of clinical contributions provided by addition of the brain, calvarium, and scalp to the limited whole body imaging area in FDG-PET/CT tumor imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to detect additional findings in whole body FDG-PET/CT scan including the brain, calvarium, and scalp (compared to starting from the base of the skull) in cancer patients and to determine contributions of these results to tumor staging and treatment protocols.
  
  
  METHODS
  We noted whether the findings related to the brain, calvarium, and scalp in 1359 patients had a potential to modify staging of the disease, chemotherapy protocol, radiotherapy protocol, and surgical management. We identified rates of metastatic findings on the brain, calvarium, and scalp according to the tumor types on FDG-PET/CT scanning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found FDG-PET/CT findings for malignancy above the base of the skull in 42 patients (3.1%), one of whom was a patient with an unknown primary tumor. Twenty-two of the metastatic findings were in the brain, 16 were in the calvarium, and two were in the scalp.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has demonstrated that addition of the brain to the limited whole body FDG-PET/CT scanning may provide important contributions to the patient's clinical management especially in patients with lung cancer, bladder cancer, malignant melanoma, breast cancer, stomach cancer, and unknown primary tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bekir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tasdemir
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeki
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dostbil
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inal
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir University, 35575 Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2971-1298
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Elazig Training and Research Hospital, 23200 Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: F Selcuk
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Simsek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012535:Scalp / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18