Hybrid imaging in malignancies of the urinary tract, prostate, and testicular cancers

Abstract

The main urologic malignancies include renal, bladder, prostate, and testicular cancers. Although positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (CT) play an increasing role in diagnosis and staging of many primary and metastatic tumors, it has been slow to be implemented into oncologic urology. Most malignant tumors are characterized by enhanced glucose metabolism, resulting in increased 18F-FDG uptake, which can be imaged by PET. In urology, 18F-FDG is a suboptimal tracer due to its variable uptake in some urological tumors and due to its accumulation and excretion through the urinary tract, potentially masking kidney, bladder, and prostate tumors. Thus, other PET tracers are being investigated for urologic malignancies. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.