Role of Modern Imaging with FDG-PET/CT in Aggressive Lymphoma

Abstract

Use of imaging for staging and response assessment of aggressive lymphomas has appropriately moved from anatomic imaging with CT scanning alone to capturing both anatomic and metabolic information with combined PET-CT. The poorer prognosis of patients who fail to obtain a complete metabolic response after rituximab-chemotherapy has driven interim PET-CT assessment applying the 5-point scale or measuring changes in the standardised uptake value (ΔSUV). However with variations in chemotherapy regimen, timing and methodology across studies, the positive predictive value of interim PET remains too low to recommend its uniform application in routine clinical practice.