Positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose - (18F) in biliary carcinomas
S. Balogová(1,2), M. Vereb(3,4), L. Kaliská(3), Ľ. Lukáč(1)
1 I. Interná klinika LF UK a UNB, Bratislava
2 Hôpital Tenon AP HP et UPMC, Paríž, Francúzsko
3 Poliklinika Sekčov, pracovisko nukleárnej medicíny, Prešov
4 Klinikum Kassel, Nuklearmedizin, Kassel, Nemecko
5 Inštitút nukleárnej a molekukárnej medicíny Košice, pracovisko Banská Bystrica
Among biliary cancers, tumours arising from the gallbladder are the most common while those of bile duct origin are less frequently encountered, constituting about 2% of all reported cancers in adults. The advent of new diagnostic methods has led to the preoperative discovery of many more of these lesions, almost certainly misdiagnosed in the past. Surgery is currently the only chance of long-term survival, and cure in some patients. Therefore, an extensive work-up is mandatory in order to accurately define the cancer stage, with a particular emphasis placed on detecting regional lymph nodes and distant metastases in order to identify those patients who may benefit from surgery. FDG PET/CT even if not mentioned in clinical guidelines yet, may potentially play an important role in management of patients with biliar cancer.
The aim of the article is to present a short overview of published data on usefulness of FDG PET/CT in management of patients with biliary cancers in following clinical settings:
In cholangiocarcinoma:
– Screening high risk patients
– Characterization of biliary stricture
– Detection and staging cholangiocarcinoma
– Search for recurrence after curative treatment
– Monitoring of therapeutic response
In gallbladder carcinoma:
– Detection of gallbladder cancer
– Staging before re-resection in incidental gallbladder cancer
