Role of PET/CT in pediatric malignancy

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) is emerging as an important noninvasive imaging modality for assessing a wide variety of malignancies in both adults and children. However, a different approach may be needed in children than that of adults due to vulnerability of children to radiation, different types of malignancies in pediatric population comparing with adults, and special technical issues and pitfalls in pediatric PET/CT imaging. In this chapter, we discuss special considerations in pediatric PET/CT imaging and explore the use of FDG-PET in pediatric malignancies, including lymphomas, sympathetic nervous system tumors, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, neuroblastomas, and the less-common tumors, such as thyroid cancers, Wilms’ tumors, and hepatoblastomas.