NUCLEAR MEDICINE PET/CT LYMPHOMAS ASSESSMENT, PROTOCOLS, AND INTERPRETATION

Course overview

FLUORINE18 FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY/COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (FDG PET/CT) IS AN ESSENTIAL IMAGING MODALITY THAT PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN MANAGING PATIENTS WITH LYMPHOMA. COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY (CT) AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) ONLY PROVIDE THE ANATOMIC DETAILS BUT CANNOT DETECT MORPHOLOGICALLY NORMAL BUT FUNCTIONALLY ABNORMAL TISSUES. ON THE OTHER HAND, PET PROVIDES FUNCTIONAL INFORMATION AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL, WHICH IS VITAL IN STAGING AND ASSESSING TREATMENT RESPONSES IN VARIOUS MALIGNANCIES. THIS ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF PET/CT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LYMPHOMA PATIENTS, WHICH INCLUDES INITIAL STAGING, MONITORING THE INTERIM RESPONSE OF THE THERAPY, END OF THE TREATMENT RESPONSE, AND DETECTING RECURRENCE. IT ALSO ADDRESSES COMMON PITFALLS THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH ACCURATE IMAGE INTERPRETATION.