Clinical application of PET for the evaluation of brain tumors

The combination of FDG and PET has demonstrated clinical utility in the evaluation of patients with brain tumors. At the time of diagnosis, FDG PET provides information concerning the degree of malignancy and patient prognosis. After therapy, FDG PET is able to assess persistence of tumor, determine degree of malignancy, monitor progression, differentiate recurrence from necrosis, and assess prognosis. Other studies using PET provide information that may be clinically useful. Determination of tumor blood flow and permeability of the blood-brain barrier may help in the selection of appropriate therapy. Amino acid imaging using 11C-methionine is being evaluated in patients with brain tumors and provides different information than FDG imaging.