Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
Accurate staging of tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) is crucial for implementing an effective treatment plan for oncological patients. Although FDG-PET/CT has a strong track record of superior sensitivity and specificity for lymph node staging, areas of intense physiological uptake of the radiotracer can sometimes make diagnosis difficult.
Whole-body MRI may be able to complement PET/CT in TNM staging by differentiating malignant from benign lesions in areas such as the brain and liver, according to research presented at the 2005 RSNA conference in Chicago.
A team from the Institute of Clinical Radiology at the University Hospital Munich in Germany recently conducted a prospective study to assess the accuracy of whole-body MRI in comparison with PET/CT for TNM staging.
The group conducted PET/CT and whole-body MRI scans on 38 patients who presented at the facility with various oncological diseases. Three radiologists and one nuclear medicine physician reviewed the images and made their findings in consensus.
As expected, PET/CT was the preferable modality for lymph node staging. However, whole-body MRI showed some interesting strengths when it came to staging distant metastases.
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