Roberto Cortes Domingues MD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Michel Carneiro MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Emerson L. Gasparetto MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Romeu Cortes Domingues MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

The purpose of study was to compare whole-body MRI with fluorine 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET and fused whole-body FDG-PET/ MRI for the evaluation of patients with cancer.

- We studied 18 patients (10 male, 8 female, mean age 34 years) with cancer, who underwent whole-body MRI and FDG-PET for staging or follow-up post-treatment. After MRI and FDG-PET acquisition with standard techniques, whole body PET-MRI co-registration and image fusion were performed at the workstation. Two experienced nuclear medicine and radiologists evaluated independently the whole-body MRI, the FDG-PET and whole-body fused FDG-PET/MRI, assessing the primary tumor, the presence of pathological lymph nodes and distant lesions. The number of lesions seen with each technique were compared. All the lesions were pathologically defined.

All the primary lesions were evaluated similarly with the three techniques. Regarding the lymph nodes, which were seen in 12 cases, all the techniques had similar results in nine cases. In the remaining three cases, the PET did not identify the lesions in one case (parailiac lymph nodes with less than 10 mm) and the MRI did not observed the lesion in two cases (thoracic lymph nodes with less than 3 mm). The distant lesions, seen in 11 cases, were well seen in all techniques in four cases. In four cases, the PET did not characterize the lesions (two bone lesions, two brain lesions). In two cases, the MRI did not show the lesions (two bone lesions), and in one case, one of the lesions was not seen on the PET (bone lesion) and one lesion was not observed on the MRI (bone lesion). In all cases, the primary tumors, lymph nodes and distant lesions were well seen on fused whole-body PET/MRI.

The fused whole-body PET-MRI is a useful imaging technique for the assessment of follow-up and staging of patients with cancer, being superior to whole-body MRI and FDG-PET as isolated methods.

The fused whole-body PET-MRI is a useful technique for the evaluation of patients with cancer.

Domingues, R, Carneiro, M, Gasparetto, E, Domingues, R, Assessement of Fused Whole Body FDG-PET/MRI Images for Evaluation of Patients with Cancer.  Radiological Society of North America 2007 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 25 - November 30, 2007 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2007/5016538.html