Possibilities of positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of primary and recurrent ovarian cancer: a review of literature

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a current radionuclide imaging technique that can supplement a diagnostic process with information on physiological and metabolic disorders in the foci of injury and specify the characteristics of a tumor process. The paper analyzes publications on the use of PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in different clinical situations in the presence of ovarian cancer for both the identification of early-stage disease, the differential diagnosis of ovarian masses and the timely detection of recurrences, follow-up during and after combination treatment. The authors’ opinions that the technique is restricted, which yields false-positive and false-negative results, are given.

Keywords

• ovarian cancer
• diagnosis
• positron emission tomography
• 18f-fluorodeoxyglucose