Clinical utility of FDG-PET and PET/CT in non-malignant thoracic disorders

Mol Imaging Biol. 2011 Dec;13(6):1051-60. doi: 10.1007/s11307-010-0459-x.

Abstract

There have been several endeavors made to investigate the potential role of 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) (and tracers) and PET-computed tomography imaging in various benign disorders, particularly those related to thoracic structures. These various conditions can be broadly categorized into three groups: (a) infectious diseases (mycobacterial, fungal, bacterial infection), (b) active granulomatous disease such as sarcoidosis, and (c) other non-infectious/inflammatory conditions or proliferative disorders (e.g., radiation pneumonitis, post-lung transplant lymphoproliferative disorders, occupational pleuropulmonary complications, and post-surgical conditions), all of which can demonstrate varying degrees of FDG uptake on PET scans based upon the degree of inflammatory activity. This article reviews the current state of this very important application of FDG-PET imaging.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Drug Monitoring
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / diagnostic imaging
  • Multimodal Imaging*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Thoracic Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*

Substances

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18