PET/CT in Radiation Therapy Planning
Radiation therapy (RT) is an important component of the management of lymphoma patients. Most lymphomas are metabolically active and accumulate 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Positron emission tomography with computer tomography (PET/CT) imaging using FDG is used routinely in staging and treatment evaluation. FDG-PET/CT imaging is now also used routinely for contouring the target for RT, and has been shown to change the irradiated volume significantly compared with CT imaging alone. Modern advanced imaging techniques with image fusion and motion management in combination with modern highly conformal RT techniques have incre...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 10, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Lena Specht, Anne Kiil Berthelsen Source Type: research
PET/CT in Lymphoma: Current Overview and Future Directions
Over the past several decades, PET has emerged as critical to accurate staging and restaging of lymphomas. Nonetheless, a number of critical issues regarding its optimal use remain. Whereas risk-adapted strategies appear to improve the outcome of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, results are less convincing in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Assessment of metabolic tumor volume before treatment may permit novel induction strategies. New drugs that may induce an immune response may result in a false-positive FDG/PET scan, mandating modifications of current criteria to consider tumor flare reactions. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - October 2, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Bruce D. Cheson Source Type: research
Letter from the Editors
This issue of Seminars in Nuclear Medicine is devoted to radionuclide studies that assist the clinician in pre- and postoperative evaluation of the patient undergoing surgical procedures. Some of these procedures, such as renal transplant evaluation and detection of postoperative biliary leaks, have been used for many years, whereas others are more recent, such as evaluating congenital heart disorders and pulmonary disease. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - September 30, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Leonard M. Freeman, M. Donald Blaufox Source Type: research
PET/CT for Staging; Past, Present, and Future
Accurate and reproducible staging is crucial for management of malignant lymphomas. Disease stage influences treatment decisions more significantly than any other clinical information in most lymphoma subtypes, and contributes with important prognostic information on its own or as part of clinical prognostic scores. Information derived from medical imaging is the single most important determinant of disease stage, and the introduction PET/CT for lymphoma has led to substantial changes in the concept as well as practice of lymphoma staging. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - September 21, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Tarec Christoffer El-Galaly, Lars Christian Gormsen, Martin Hutchings Source Type: research
PET/CT for Lymphoma Post-therapy Response Assessment in Hodgkin Lymphoma and Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Over the course of many decades, combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy adapted to the stage of disease have become the optimal and standard treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Besides achieving optimized cure rates of the underlying disease, reduction of toxicity has become a major goal. Since the introduction of FDG-PET for the staging and restaging of patients with lymphoma, a high predictive value of F-18-FDG-PET in response assessment has been observed. Several PET-response-guided therapy regimens have already been established, and even more PET-adapted study designs are being tested...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - September 18, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Carsten Kobe, Markus Dietlein, Dirk Hellwig Source Type: research
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Procedures
Accurate staging of many cancers with no clinical evidence of lymph node involvement is often a critical component of the management of such cancers and is generally and historically accomplished by accurate pathological assessment of multiple nodes. Unfortunately, such assessment usually involves excision of the multiple nodes and can result in significant morbidities. Over the past half century, and particularly over the last quarter century, investigators have defined and refined the “sentinel lymph node(s)” concept and have developed and investigated sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) procedures. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - September 6, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Valeria M. Moncayo, Adina L. Alazraki, Naomi P. Alazraki, John N. Aarsvold Source Type: research
Bone SPECT/CT of the Spine, Foot, and Ankle: Evaluation of Surgical Patients
Radionuclide bone scanning has been used routinely in the evaluation of bone pathology for decades. The greatest strength of the procedure is its extreme sensitivity for bone metabolism, allowing it to distinguish between active and inactive bony abnormalities. The downside of this reliance on abnormal bone turnover is the relative lack of anatomical detail compared with ever-improving CT and MRI technology. Fusion imaging using SPECT/CT (SCT), PET/CT, and PET/MRI offers an opportunity to combine the sensitivity of nuclear medicine examinations with the anatomical detail of CT and MRI. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 23, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Leah E. Waldman, Stephen C. Scharf Source Type: research
Applications of Ventilation-Perfusion Scintigraphy in Surgical Management of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease and Cancer
Ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy (VPS) depicts the two main physiological processes that are fundamental to oxygen-dependent life. The test has affirmed its critical place in the evaluation of patients with lung cancer preparing for lung resection. The results of the study can differentiate patients who are very likely to survive surgery and the subsequent pulmonary function loss from those who are not. This review presents validated and evolving testing techniques for this critical indication. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 22, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Mark Tulchinsky, Joseph S. Fotos, Kshama Wechalekar, Simin Dadparvar Source Type: research
Ventilation-Perfusion Scintigraphy in Preoperative and Postoperative Assessments
Ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy (VPS) depicts the two main physiological processes that are fundamental to oxygen-dependent life. The test has affirmed its critical place in the evaluation of patients with lung cancer preparing for lung resection. The results of the study can differentiate patients who are very likely to survive surgery and the subsequent pulmonary function loss from those who are not. This review presents validated and evolving testing techniques for this critical indication. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 22, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Mark Tulchinsky, Joseph S. Fotos, Kshama Wechalekar, Simin Dadparvar Source Type: research
Small Molecule PET Tracers in Drug Discovery
The process of discovering and developing a new pharmaceutical is a long, difficult, and risky process that requires numerous resources. Molecular imaging techniques such as PET have recently become a useful tool for making decisions along a drug candidate's development timeline. PET is a translational, noninvasive imaging technique that provides quantitative information about a potential drug candidate and its target at the molecular level. Using this technique provides decisional information to ensure that the right drug candidate is being chosen, for the right target, at the right dose within the right patient populatio...
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 19, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: David J. Donnelly Source Type: research
Letter from the Editors
The editors thank Drs Peter Scott and Amy Vavere for serving as guest editors of this issue and for their compilation of a series of articles that are profoundly important in the field of Nuclear Medicine. As Drs Scott and Vavere point out in the accompanying guest editorial, the concept for this issue arose after they organized a teaching seminar for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging We noted this seminar with great interest and realized that it would be of significant interest and teaching importance to our readers. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 19, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Leonard M. Freeman, M. Donald Blaufox Source Type: research
The Role of Pulmonary Scintigraphy in the Evaluation of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease
We present a review of the variety of clinical scenarios where pulmonary scintigraphy can be helpful in the evaluation of adults with congenital heart disease, along with technical considerations associated with these studies. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - August 11, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Malak Itani, Manuela Matesan, Jitesh Ahuja, Mohamed Bermo, Asma S. Habib, Christopher Goiney, Eric V. Krieger, Hubert Vesselle Source Type: research
Comprehensive Auditing in Nuclear Medicine Through the International Atomic Energy Agency Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine Program. Part 2: Analysis of Results
The International Atomic Energy Agency has developed a program, named Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine (QUANUM), to help its Member States to check the status of their nuclear medicine practices and their adherence to international reference standards, covering all aspects of nuclear medicine, including quality assurance/quality control of instrumentation, radiopharmacy (further subdivided into levels 1, 2, and 3, according to complexity of work), radiation safety, clinical applications, as well as managerial aspects. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - July 28, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Maurizio Dondi, Leonel Torres, Mario Marengo, Teresa Massardo, Eyal Mishani, Annare Van Zyl Ellmann, Kishor Solanki, Angelika Bischof Delaloye, Enrique Estrada Lobato, Rodolfo Nunez Miller, Felix Barajas Ordonez, Diana Paez, Thomas Pascual Source Type: research
Role of Nuclear Medicine for Diagnosing Infection of Recently Implanted Lower Extremity Arthroplasties
Infection is an infrequent complication of lower extremity prosthetic joint surgery. Approximately one-third develop within 3 months (early), another third within 1 year (delayed), and the remainder more than 1 year (late) after surgery. Diagnosing prosthetic joint infection, especially in the early postoperative period during the first year, is challenging. Pain is almost always present. The presence of fever is variable, ranging from less than 5% to more than 40% of patients. Leukocytosis is a poor predictor of infection. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - July 26, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Christopher J. Palestro, Charito Love Source Type: research
Biliary Leak in the Postsurgical Abdomen: a Primer to HIDA Scan Interpretation
Postsurgical bile leaks can be associated with significant morbidity and even mortality, if not identified and treated at an early phase. Hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan is an important test for detection of bile leaks in the postoperative abdomen. However, the lack of anatomical details on planar images can make interpretation difficult, especially in the setting of altered postsurgical anatomy. Familiarity with the expected postoperative appearance on HIDA scan and correlation with SPECT/CT or other imaging modalities when available are very important. (Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine)
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - July 25, 2017 Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Manuela Matesan, Mohammed Bermo, Irene Cruite, Cheng-Han Shih, Saeed Elojeimy, Fatemeh Behnia, David Lewis, Hubert Vesselle Source Type: research
