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. 2012 Oct;26(4):365-71.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjopt.2012.08.008.

Value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in diagnosis and staging of primary ocular and orbital tumors

Ka-Hoi Hui  1 , Margaret L Pfeiffer, Bita Esmaeli
Affiliations

Value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in diagnosis and staging of primary ocular and orbital tumors

Ka-Hoi Hui et al. Saudi J Ophthalmol. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Accurate and reliable staging methods are crucial for optimal care of patients with ocular and orbital malignancies. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has recently emerged as a staging tool in the field of ophthalmic oncology. For detecting primary ocular or orbital lesions, PET/CT does not seem to provide an advantage over clinical ophthalmologic examination or conventional imaging studies such as CT or magnetic resonance imaging of the orbit. However, PET/CT may detect distant metastatic lesions that conventional imaging studies miss. For orbital and ocular adnexal lymphoma, use of PET/CT has been proven to be feasible and is now accepted both as a standard part of the initial staging work-up and for the assessment of response to therapy. For other ophthalmic tumors, PET/CT seems most appropriate for advanced metastatic tumors of the orbit, eyelid, and eye, for which the detection of distant metastasis with 1 comprehensive study may be preferable to performing multiple CT scans with contrast.

Keywords: Cancer staging; MALT lymphoma; Orbital lymphoma; Orbital tumors; Positron emission tomography/computed tomography; Uveal melanoma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Baseline PET in a patient with lacrimal gland MALT lymphoma shows a focal area of increased FDB uptake in the right arm. An MRI of the upper extremity was subsequently done and confirmed the presence of a lesion in the biceps muscle which upon biopsy proved to be a focus of lymphoma.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PET/CT findings in a patient with Merkel cell carcinoma of the eyelid. (A) FDG uptake in the upper eyelid. (B) FDG uptake in the parotid nodal basin. The patient also had a palpable mass in the parotid. PET/CT was ordered to rule out other sites of distant metastasis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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