TY - JOUR
T1 - PET/CT for staging and follow-up of pediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma
AU - Cheuk, Daniel K.L.
AU - Sabin, Noah D.
AU - Hossain, Moinul
AU - Wozniak, Amy
AU - Naik, Mihir
AU - Rodriguez-Galindo, Carlos
AU - Krasin, Matthew J.
AU - Shulkin, Barry L.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments We thank Sandra Gaither for secretarial support and David Galloway for scientific editing. The work was supported by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities.
PY - 2012/7
Y1 - 2012/7
N2 - Purpose: While FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in adult patients has documented advantages and disadvantages compared with conventional imaging, to our knowledge, no studies of FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of NPC in pediatric patients have been performed. In this investigation, we studied the utility of FDG PET/CT in children with NPC. Methods: The study group comprised 18 children with biopsy-proven NPC who underwent FDG PET/CT and MRI (total 38 pairs of images). All baseline and follow-up FDG PET/CT and MRI studies were independently reviewed for restaging of disease. Results: The concordance between FDG PET/CT and MRI in T, N, and overall staging was 29%, 64%, and 43%, respectively. Compared with MRI, FDG PET/CT yielded lower T and overall staging and showed less cervical and retropharyngeal lymphadenopathy. The concordance between follow-up FDG PET/CT and MRI was 79% overall and 100% 9 months after therapy. In patients who achieved complete remission, FDG PET/CT showed disease clearance 3-6 months earlier than MRI. There were no false-positive or false-negative FDG PET/CT scans during follow-up. Conclusion: FDG PET/CT may underestimate tumor extent and regional lymphadenopathy compared with MRI at the time of diagnosis, but it helps to detect metastases and clarify ambiguous findings. FDG PET/CT is sensitive and specific for follow-up and enables earlier determination of disease remission. FDG PET/CT is a valuable imaging modality for the evaluation and monitoring of NPC in pediatric patients.
AB - Purpose: While FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in adult patients has documented advantages and disadvantages compared with conventional imaging, to our knowledge, no studies of FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of NPC in pediatric patients have been performed. In this investigation, we studied the utility of FDG PET/CT in children with NPC. Methods: The study group comprised 18 children with biopsy-proven NPC who underwent FDG PET/CT and MRI (total 38 pairs of images). All baseline and follow-up FDG PET/CT and MRI studies were independently reviewed for restaging of disease. Results: The concordance between FDG PET/CT and MRI in T, N, and overall staging was 29%, 64%, and 43%, respectively. Compared with MRI, FDG PET/CT yielded lower T and overall staging and showed less cervical and retropharyngeal lymphadenopathy. The concordance between follow-up FDG PET/CT and MRI was 79% overall and 100% 9 months after therapy. In patients who achieved complete remission, FDG PET/CT showed disease clearance 3-6 months earlier than MRI. There were no false-positive or false-negative FDG PET/CT scans during follow-up. Conclusion: FDG PET/CT may underestimate tumor extent and regional lymphadenopathy compared with MRI at the time of diagnosis, but it helps to detect metastases and clarify ambiguous findings. FDG PET/CT is sensitive and specific for follow-up and enables earlier determination of disease remission. FDG PET/CT is a valuable imaging modality for the evaluation and monitoring of NPC in pediatric patients.
KW - Child
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
KW - Positron emission tomography
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U2 - 10.1007/s00259-012-2091-2
DO - 10.1007/s00259-012-2091-2
M3 - Review article
C2 - 22532252
AN - SCOPUS:84862675257
SN - 1619-7070
VL - 39
SP - 1097
EP - 1106
JO - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
IS - 7
ER -