Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in bone and soft tissue sarcoma

Effective management of patients with sarcoma requires accurate diagnosis and staging. Imaging techniques such as ultrasound, CT, and MRI are commonly used for detecting the location, size, and morphological and structural changes of adjacent tissues. However, these modalities provide little information about tumor biology.The present study reports the experiences of a private clinical center on the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis, staging, restaging and monitoring of a treatment response in the management of patients with sarcoma. The records of patients with bone and soft tissue sarcoma referred to a private specialized hospital for 18F-FDG PET/CT from 2016 to 2019 were evaluated. Information such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and pathology of patients was recorded. 66.7% of males (mean age of 26.37 years) and 33.3% females (mean age of 28.76 years) were included in the study. Among SUVmax reported in observed lesions, either metastasis or recurrence and primary tumor, the highest value was found in the lymph node on the right side of neck due to metastasis of the giant cell tumor of the bone (SUVmax = 18.23) and the lowest in the right lung pulmonary node due to the retroperitoneal sarcoma metastasis (SUVmax = 0.88). Mean SUVmax of hepatic right lobe was not significantly different between diabetic and non-diabetic patients (p=0.761). 18F-FDG PET/CT appears to be a noninvasive measurement method that can be used to predict events and outcomes, but it is currently considered an optional test, which calls for further studies to corroborate its case-effectiveness.