18F-FDG PET/CT in diagnostic and theraputic evaluation of malignant lymphoma

Objective: To assess the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in diagnostic and theraputic evaluation of malignant lymphoma. Methods: Imaging of 18F-FDG PET/CT scan was retrospectively reviewed in 90 cases with pathologicaly proven malignant lymphoma. In 15 patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD), 14 cases underwent PET/CT scanning posttreatment, and the other one was scanned before and after treatment. In 75 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), 24 cases underwent PET/ CT scans before therapy, 10 cases with both pretreatment and posttreatment PET/CT scans, and the other 41 cases underwent PET/CT scanning after therapy. All the patients had corresponding CT, MRI and/ or ultrasound results. Results: According to the PET/CT images, in 15 patients with HD, 4 cases showed normal after chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, 4 cases improved or partly improved, the other 7 cases were in progressing or recurred after relief. For 34 NHL cases with PET/CT scanning before therapy, positive findings were detected in 32 cases (94.12%), whereas the positive rate was 85.71% from CT, MRI and/or ultrasound results. From the PET/CT scans of 51 NHL cases after therapy, 23 cases (45.10%) showed normal, and 9 cases (17.65%) improved or partly improved, while the other 19 cases (37.25%) were in progressing or recurred after relief. Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/CT is a sensitive and accurate imaging method in clinical diagnosis, staging and therapy and recurrence evaluation malignant lymphoma.