[18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/Computed Tomography in Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine
• Radiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Gastrointestinal malignancies encompass diverse cell types.
• FDG-PET/CT is a key imaging modality for these cancers.
• Current literature guides its application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the state-of-the-art application of FDG-PET/CT in gastrointestinal malignancies.
• To focus on specific cancers including gastric, pancreatic, liver, and colorectal.
• To evaluate FDG-PET/CT's role in staging, restaging, recurrence detection, prognostication, and treatment response assessment.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of current applications of FDG-PET/CT.
• Focus on gastric, pancreatic, hepatocellular, cholangiocarcinoma, colorectal carcinomas, and GIST.
• Analysis of FDG-PET/CT utility in staging, restaging, recurrence detection, patient selection, prognostication, and response assessment.

Main Results:

• FDG-PET/CT is valuable across various gastrointestinal malignancies.
• Its applications span initial staging through to monitoring treatment response.
• Evidence supports its use in detecting recurrent disease and guiding patient selection.

Conclusions:

• FDG-PET/CT is integral to the management of gastrointestinal cancers.
• It provides critical information for staging, prognostication, and treatment evaluation.
• Further research continues to refine its role in clinical practice.