Common Uses for PET/CT

Oncology

Neurology

• Brain Tumor
  - Breast Cancer Recurrence Differentiate recurrent tumor from radiation necrosis
  - Differentiate primary CNS lymphoma from toxoplasmosis
• Breast Cancer
  - Identify involved axillary nodes or distant metastatic disease
  - Exclude local recurrence of disease
  Evaluate response to treatment
• Colorectal Cancer
  - Detect locally recurrent or distant metastatic disease in patients with elevated or rising CEA who may be candidates for surgical re-excision
  - Rule our distant metastases for preoperative evaluation
• Head & Neck Cancer
  -Determine extent of local, regional and distant disease
  -Detect recurrent/residual tumor following definitive therapy
• Lung Cancer
  -Distinguish malignant from benign pulmonary nodules
  -Stage for mediastinal or distant metastatic disease
  -Use as part of radiotherapy treatment planning
  -Detect recurrent/residual tumor for following definitive therapy
• Lymphoma
  -Determine extent of disease and measure treatment response
• Melanoma
  -Identify extent of local and regional disease spread in patients with high risk melanoma (e.g., primary tumor > 4mm) or in suspected recurrence
• Musculoskeletal Tumors
  -Evaluate local extent of disease and exclude distant metastases
  -Measure treatment response and exclude recurrent/residual tumor following definitive therapy
• Ovarian Cancer
  -Detect recurrent/residual tumor prior to surgical exploration or additional chemotherapy
• Pancreatic Cancer
  -Differentiate benign processes such as pancreatitis, mucinous cyst adenoma and pseudocyst from malignant disease
  -Rule out distant metastases for preoperative evaluation 

• Alzheimer Disease
  -Differentiate Alzheimer's disease aberrant features from fronto-temporal dementias
• Epilepsy
  -Localize the seizure focus in patients with intractable complex seizure disorders
• Stroke
  -Evaluate extent of disease and recovery following therapy 

Cardiology

• Myocardial Viability
  -Distinguish viable myocardium from infarcted tissue in patients with suspected hibernating or stunned myocardium
• Coronary Artery Disease
  -Identify ischemic disease
• Preoperative Prognostic Assessment
  -Evaluate extent of disease in patients being considered for interventional revascularization or transplantation procedures