The Role of PET in Supratentorial and Infratentorial Pediatric Brain Tumors

Angelina Cistaro; Domenico Albano; Pierpaolo Alongi; Riccardo Laudicella; Daniele Antonio Pizzuto; Giuseppe Formica; Cinzia Romagnolo; Federica Stracuzzi; Viviana Frantellizzi; Arnoldo Piccardo; Natale Quartuccio

doi:10.3390/curroncol28040226

Current Oncology (Jul 2021)

The Role of PET in Supratentorial and Infratentorial Pediatric Brain Tumors

Angelina Cistaro,
Domenico Albano,
Pierpaolo Alongi,
Riccardo Laudicella,
Daniele Antonio Pizzuto,
Giuseppe Formica,
Cinzia Romagnolo,
Federica Stracuzzi,
Viviana Frantellizzi,
Arnoldo Piccardo,
Natale Quartuccio

Affiliations

Angelina Cistaro: Nuclear Medicine Department, Ospedali Galliera, 16128 Genova, Italy
Domenico Albano: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Brescia and Spedali Civili Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Pierpaolo Alongi: Unit of Nuclear Medicine, Fondazione Istituto G. Giglio, 90015 Cefalù, Italy
Riccardo Laudicella: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and of Morpho-Functional Imaging, A.O.U. Policlinico G. Martino, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Daniele Antonio Pizzuto: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zürich, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland
Giuseppe Formica: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and of Morpho-Functional Imaging, A.O.U. Policlinico G. Martino, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Cinzia Romagnolo: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Ospedali Riuniti, Torrette di Ancona, 60126 Ancona, Italy
Federica Stracuzzi: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and of Morpho-Functional Imaging, A.O.U. Policlinico G. Martino, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Viviana Frantellizzi: Department of Radiological Sciences, Oncology and Anatomical Pathology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Arnoldo Piccardo: Nuclear Medicine Department, Ospedali Galliera, 16128 Genova, Italy
Natale Quartuccio: AIMN Pediatric Study Group, 20159 Milan, Italy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol28040226
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 28, no. 4
pp. 2481 – 2495

Abstract

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Objective: This review aims to provide a summary of the clinical indications and limitations of PET imaging with different radiotracers, including 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) and other radiopharmaceuticals, in pediatric neuro-oncology, discussing both supratentorial and infratentorial tumors, based on recent literature (from 2010 to present). Methods: A literature search of the PubMed/MEDLINE database was carried out searching for articles on the use of PET in pediatric brain tumors. The search was updated until December 2020 and limited to original studies published in English after 1 January 2010. Results: 18F-FDG PET continues to be successfully employed in different settings in pediatric neuro-oncology, including diagnosis, grading and delineation of the target for stereotactic biopsy, estimation of prognosis, evaluation of recurrence, treatment planning and assessment of treatment response. Nevertheless, non-18F-FDG tracers, especially amino acid analogues seem to show a better performance in each clinical setting. Conclusions: PET imaging adds important information in the diagnostic work-up of pediatric brain tumors. International or national multicentric studies are encouraged in order to collect larger amount of data.

Published in Current Oncology

ISSN: 1198-0052 (Print); 1718-7729 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/curroncol

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