Current concepts in lymph node imaging

Abstract

The accurate identification and characterization of lymph nodes by imaging has important therapeutic and prognostic significance in patients with newly diagnosed cancers. The presence of nodal metastases limits the therapeutic options and also generally indicates worse prognosis in patients. Thus, it becomes crucial to have this information before commencing therapy. Current cross-sectional imaging modalities rely on insensitive size and morphologic criteria and, thus, lack the desired accuracy for characterizing lymph nodes. This is mainly because metastases can be present in non-enlarged lymph nodes and not all enlarged nodes are malignant. PET has overcome some of these limitations but is still constrained by current resolution limits for small nodal metastases. This has fueled the development of targeted techniques for nodal imaging and characterization as outlined in this article. In the past few years, studies have shown that these newer imaging techniques can bridge some of the limitations of existing imaging for nodal characterization and thereby provide the much-needed staging information before the initiation of therapy.