title: Sodium 18F-fluoride PET/CT of bone, joint, and other disorders.
abstract: The use of (18)F-sodium fluoride ((18)F-NaF) with PET/CT is increasing. This resurgence of an old tracer has been fueled by several factors including superior diagnostic performance over standard (99m)Tc-based bone scintigraphy, growth in the availability of PET/CT imaging systems, increase in the number of regional commercial distribution centers for PET radiotracers, the recent concerns about potential recurring shortages with (99m)Tc-based radiotracers, and the recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reimburse for (18)F-NaF PET/CT for evaluation of patients with known or suspected bone metastases through the National Oncologic PET Registry. The major goal of this article is to review the current evidence on the diagnostic utility of (18)F-NaF in the imaging assessment of the bone and joint in a variety of clinical conditions.
authors.affiliation: PET/CT Imaging Science Center, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address: jadvar@med.usc.edu.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jadvar
authors.affiliation: PET/CT Imaging Science Center, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Bhushan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: PET/CT Imaging Science Center, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Conti
mesh_terms: D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D012969:Sodium Fluoride; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D012969:Sodium Fluoride