PET/CT: Clinical role in lymphomas

Hell J Nucl Med. 2023 May-Aug;26 Suppl:36-37.ABSTRACT18F-FDG PET/CT is the imaging modality of choice for the accurate initial staging of most lymphomas. Hodgkin's, Diffuse Large B-cell and follicular lymphomas show avid FDG uptake, while a minority of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes namely MALT, marginal and small lymphocytic lymphoma demonstrate low or moderate avidity. As a rule of thumb, indolent lymphomas show lower FDG activity than aggressive ones. PET/CT has increased sensitivity in the detection of nodal involvement even in small or normal-sized nodes. It shows higher sensitivity than CT in the detection of extra-nodal disease, most often in the spleen and bone marrow. PET/CT leads to upstaging in up to 25% of Hodgkin lymphomas, paving the way to intensified therapy. It has excellent Negative Predictive Value (NPV>95%) in the detection of bone marrow involvement in Hodgkin's rendering bone marrow biopsy not absolutely necessary: a negative PET rules out bone marrow disease in Hodgkin's patients, yet this does not universally apply in Non-Hodgkin lymphomas. PET/CT is superior to other imaging modalities in the initial stating of aggressive Non-Hodgkin lymphomas detecting disease in previously not suspected or occult sites. 18F-FDG PET/CT is applied in the early therapeutic evaluation of Hodgkin's by means of interim PET performed after 2-3 initial cycles of chemotherapy. Patients with negative interim PET and no hypermetabolic disease identified may continue with the...
Source: Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine - Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Source Type: research