[Positron emission tomography (PET) in soft-tissue sarcoma]

Positron emission tomography (PET) uses the significantly increased glucose metabolism to differentiate malignancies from healthy tissue. This method is well established in the oncologic diagnostics of solid epithelial tumours and also in breast cancer. In low-grade soft tissue sarcomas specificity and sensitivity are limited, however. Not only conventional systems, but also dual headed coincidence cameras requiring considerably less technical and economical expenditure can be used to produce PET-scans. We have studied the outcome of this technology in 13 patients with different types of soft-tissue sarcoma. It is our impression that both conventional and gamma camera based PET-systems result in similar results in soft-tissue sarcoma. Furthermore, in one of the cases presented, PET was able to detect metastases considerably earlier than conventional radiography.