Hanyang Medical Reviews  2007;27(4):16-22

Clinical Application of PET in Head and Neck Cancer.

Jae Seung KIM 1 ; Jai Hyuen LEE

Affiliations

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Keywords

head and neck; FDG; PET; staging; squamous cell carcinoma

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common type of human cancer worldwide. Squamous cell carcinomas are the most common cancer of the head and neck. Due to the higher glycolytic rates of squamous cell carcinomas relative to normal tissue, the glucose analog 18F-FDG can be used to detect umors, and 18F-FDG PET has been used inpatients with head and neck cancers for initial staging, management of recurrent cancers, and therapeutic onitoring. We reviewed the clinical application and diagnostic usefulness of 18F-FDG PET in the management of head and neck cancer.