title: Pitfalls in [¹⁸F]FDG PET imaging in gynecological malignancies.
abstract: Gynecologic malignancies are the leading causes of cancer in women and they represent about 10 to 20% of all solid tumors. During the past few decades, technological advancements in the detection and staging have gained a pivotal role in all oncological processes, including the gynecological ones. Beyond ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that are conventionally used for anatomical imaging, [18F]FDG imaging and its hybrid further development as PET/CT has become a crucial tool due of its ability to combine functional metabolic and anatomic information, and the ability to image the entire whole body in a single examination. Since the introduction of integrated hybrid PET/CT systems into clinical practice the accurate analysis of the images has detected a number of limitations and pitfalls. The purpose of this review was to describe in detail the different pitfalls related to the use of [18F]FDG PET/CT in the gynecological malignancies, providing imaging examples and discussing possible ways to avoid misinterpretations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA - miguel.pampaloni@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernandez Pampaloni
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Facchetti
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nardo
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18