The emerging role of whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in patients with sarcoidosis

Abstract

IntroductionThe purpose of this article is to examine the emerging role of whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in patients with sarcoidosis.Materials and methodsWe reviewed the literature on the use of FDG-PET in patients with sarcoidosis to identify how this technique is being applied in clinical practice.Results and discussionOur review shows that: 1) sarcoidosis is commonly associated with increased FDG uptake. Therefore, positive findings should be interpreted with caution when FDG-PET is being used to distinguish benign from malignant abnormalities; 2) FDG-PET seems to be a very useful molecular imaging method for staging sarcoidosis, identification of occult sites of involvement, guiding biopsy procedures, and monitoring patients’ responses to treatment; and 3) in patients with sarcoidosis, the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET is superior to that of 67Ga scintigraphy.

Keywords

• Positron emission tomography
• 18F-FDG
• Sarcoidosis