Musculoskeletal

Abstract

PET imaging with Fluorine-18 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose or FDG PET can be quite useful for both primary bone tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. There are major indications for PET imaging for malignant processes including screening, diagnosis, staging, restaging, and monitoring response to therapy (Bestic et al. (Radiographics 29(5):1487–1500, 2009; Piperkova et al. Clin Nuclear Med 34(3):146–150, 2009). FDG PET has a limited role in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal tumors and has no role in screening for such lesions. PET has however proven quite efficacious for staging and restaging of musculoskeletal tumors (Bestic et al. Radiographics 29(5):1487–1500, 2009; Piperkova et al. Clin Nuclear Med 34(3):146–150, 2009). In addition PET can be useful for evaluating response to therapy of musculoskeletal tumors (Benz et al. Clin Cancer Res 15(8):2856–2863, 2009; Iagaru et al. Clin Nuclear Med 33(1):8–13, 2008). Most musculoskeletal lesions are sufficiently glucose-avid for FDG PET to reliably depict distant tumor involvement, local spread or recurrence (Charest et al. Euro J Null Med Mol Imaging 36:1944–1951, 2009). This chapter will examine the current utility and applications of FDG PET imaging for evaluation of musculoskeletal neoplasms.