| [ Summary ] |
FDG-PET imaging is a newly developed nuclear medicine diagnostic procedure, which images the active glucose metabolism of malignant tumor tissues. In the diagnosis of pancreatic cancers, FDG-PET is used to depict those lesions, which are indeterminate or nondetectable using conventional imaging modalities, to differentiate malignant from benign pancreatic abnormalities, and to stage pancreatic cancers accurately. Furthermore, recently introduced whole-body PET machines, which can examine the whole body at one time, can depict unexpected metastatic foci for changes in therapeutic strategy. However, compared to the conventional imaging modalities, the resolution of FDG-PET is low, and the detectability of lesions smaller than 1cm is unsatisfactory. In addition, the accumulation of FDG in the inflammatory foci and physiological uptake by various normal organs are additional limitations of FDG-PET which remain to be solved. By properly combining FDG-PET with conventional imaging modalities, we can receive precious information for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. |