title: The role of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in evaluating the response to tyrosine-kinase inhibitors in patients with metastatic primary renal cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is increasingly used in the evaluation of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), primarily for staging purposes. The aim of this paper is to perform a systematic review about the usefulness of PET-CT using FDG in response assessment after treatment with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with advanced RCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The scientific literature about the role of PET-CT using FDG in the assessment of response to treatment with TKIs in patients affected by advanced RCC was systematically reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven studies about the role of PET-CT using FDG in the response assessment after treatment with TKIs (essentially sunitinib and sorafenib) in advanced RCC were retrieved in full-text and analysed, to determine the predictive role of this morpho-functional imaging method on patient outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To date, the role of PET-CT using FDG in evaluating the response to TKIs in metastatic RCC patients is still not well defined, partly due to heterogeneity of available studies; however, PET-CT reveals potential role for the selection of patients undergoing therapy with TKIs. The use of contrast-enhanced PET-CT appears to be promising for a "multi-dimensional" evaluation of treatment response in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Medicine, PET/CT Center, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caldarella
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muoio
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Isgrò
authors.affiliation: School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porfiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Center, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Treglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Center, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giovanella
keywords: advanced renal cell carcinoma; fluorodeoxyglucose; positron emission tomography; response to treatment; tyrosine-kinase inhibitors