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Document Details : Title: 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography as a tool for response prediction in solid tumours Author(s): DE MAESENEER DJ, LAMBERT B, SURMONT V, GEBOES K, ROTTEY SWH Journal: Acta Clinica Belgica Volume: 65 Issue: 5 Date: 2010 Pages: 291-299 DOI: 10.2143/ACB.65.5.1002427 Abstract : Current response guidelines for the treatment of solid tumours are based on CT criteria. Over the last decades new techniques have emerged to evaluate cancer therapy. FDG-PET scanning is a more functional imaging technique, which can measure differences in metabolic activity. Although it has a low specificity, studies show that it can outperform classical CT scanning criteria. Especially in lung, breast and oesophageal cancer it can predict response earlier in the neo-adjuvant setting. This could reduce the use of ineffective cancer therapies, reducing costs and patient toxicity, and direct patients sooner towards effective therapy. The main problem with FDG-PET remains the difficulty in defining thresholds for response, as there is clearly a lack in large prospective randomized studies validating the use of FDG-PET in response guidelines. We give an overview of data on response prediction in solid tumours by the application of PET. |
