PET imaging of hematological neoplasia

Nuclear medicine studies play a vital role in the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of patients with hematological malignancies. Notably, positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) provides metabolic tumor information, which coupled with computed tomography (CT) allows adequate anatomic localization. The use of this hybrid technique enables precise evaluation of the disease extent and provides qualitative and semiquantitative measures to track treatment response. PET/CT is essential to the staging of FDG-avid lymphomas, and interim PET/CT provides prognostic information related to treatment response that is more accurate than the available clinical tools. In multiple myeloma, PET/CT provides prognostic information and allows the assessment of treatment response. New developments in the radiotracer field and the introduction of hybrid scanners that combine PET and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may be catalysts of future progress in this field.