Assessment of treatment response using PET

Abstract

This article reviews the major treatment response evaluation guidelines in the domain of cancer imaging and how the potential of PET imaging, particularly with fluorodeoxyglucose, is increasingly explored in this important aspect of cancer management. Certain disease-specific response criteria (such as in lymphoma) are also reviewed with emphasis on the changes made over time and the main areas of concern in PET interpretation. The major present clinical applications are illustrated and potential new areas are discussed with regard to clinical applications in the future. Finally, the evolving role of newer and novel PET metrics, which hold promise in treatment response evaluation, is illustrated with examples.

Keywords: EORTC 1999; Global metabolic burden; Metabolic tumor volume; PERCIST; RECIST1.0; Revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1); WHO criteria; Whole-body metabolic burden.