NUCLEAR MEDICINE PET/CT HEAD AND NECK CANCER ASSESSMENT, PROTOCOLS, AND INTERPRETATION

Course overview

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (PET-CT) IS A RADIOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE USED TO DIAGNOSE, STAGE, AND SURVEY HYPERMETABOLIC TISSUE, PRIMARILY CANCER. THIS ACTIVITY SUMMARIZES GUIDELINES FOR WHEN PET-CT IS APPROPRIATE FOR EVALUATING HEAD AND NECK CANCER. PET-CT REQUIRES SPECIFIC PATIENT PREPARATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF POTENTIAL FALSE POSITIVE AND FALSE NEGATIVE TEST RESULTS DEPENDING ON WHETHER PET-CT IS USED FOR DIAGNOSING, INITIAL STAGING, OR POST-TREATMENT STAGING OF DIFFERENT HEAD AND NECK CANCER SUBTYPES.