title: 4D PET/CT as a Strategy to Reduce Respiratory Motion Artifacts in FDG-PET/CT.
abstract: The improved accuracy in tumor identification with FDG-PET has led to its increased utilization in target volume delineation for radiotherapy treatment planning in the treatment of lung cancer. However, PET/CT has constantly been influenced by respiratory motion-related image degradation, which is especially prominent for small lung tumors in the peri-diaphragmatic regions of the thorax. Here, we describe the current findings on respiratory motion-related image degradation in PET/CT, which may bring uncertainties to target volume delineation for image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for lung cancer. Furthermore, we describe the evidence suggesting 4D PET/CT to be one strategy to minimize the impact of respiratory motion-related image degradation on tumor target delineation for thoracic IGRT. This, in our opinion, warrants further investigation in future IGRT-based lung cancer trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, West Virginia University , Morgantown, WV , USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: The International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group , Tucson, AZ , USA.
authors.forename: Nam P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Nguyen
keywords: IGRT; PET; PET/CT; lung cancer; target volume delineation