title: Gynecologic oncologic imaging with PET/CT.
abstract: FDG-PET/CT has been evaluated in a variety of gynecologic malignancies in a variety of settings and is approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the initial and subsequent treatment strategies of these malignancies. Cervical cancer is typically very FDG avid, and FDG-PET/CT appears to be most valuable for initial staging, radiation therapy planning, and detection of recurrent disease. For ovarian cancer, the most value of FDG-PET/CT appears to be for detecting recurrent disease in the setting of rising CA-125 level and negative or equivocal anatomical imaging studies. Initial studies evaluating response to therapy are promising and further work in this area is needed. FDG uptake in both nonmalignant and physiological processes in the pelvis can make interpretation of FDG-PET/CT in this region challenging and knowledge of these entities and patterns can avoid misinterpretation. Some of the most common findings relate to the cyclic changes that occur as part of the menstrual cycle in premenopausal women. Mucinous tumors and low-volume or peritoneal carcinomatosis are causes of false-negative results on FDG-PET/CT studies. As new tracers are developed, comparisons with patient outcomes and standards of care (eg, FDG-PET/CT) will be needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sakellis
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Electronic address: hjacene@partners.org.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Jacene
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18