PET versus PET/CT dual-modality imaging in evaluation of lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80% of bronchogenic malignancies. The choice of therapy options, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy-used alone or in combination-is based on the tumor stage. Consequently, the accurate determination of tumor size, potential infiltration of adjacent structures, mediastinal lymph node involvement, and the detection of distant metastases are of central importance. The purpose of this article is to summarize the accuracy of dual-modality FDG-PET/CT imaging in staging of NSCLC as compared with FDG-PET alone, and with FDG-PET as well as CT read side by side. Furthermore, an optimized PET/CT protocol for patients who have lung cancer is outlined.