Occult primary tumors of the head and neck : Lack of benefit from positron emission tomography imaging with 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose

✍ Scribed by Kathryn M. Greven; John W. Keyes Jr.; Daniel W. Williams III; W. Frederick McGuirt; William T. Joyce III

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 105 KB
• Volume: 86
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19990701)86:1<114::aid-cncr16>3.0.co;2-e

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

Patients who present with squamous cell carcinoma metastatic to cervical lymph nodes and no clinically apparent primary site present a therapeutic dilemma. Positron emission tomography imaging with 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-Dglucose (FDG-PET) has been shown to be useful for the examination of known primary tumors. This study was undertaken to determine whether FDG-PET imaging improves detection of occult primary tumors in patients with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma in the lymph nodes of the head and neck.

METHODS.

Thirteen patients with pathology proven cervical lymph node metastases from clinically occult primary squamous cell carcinomas were evaluated prospectively with FDG-PET, in addition to standard clinical and radiographic techniques, as part of their pretreatment diagnostic evaluation. Direct panendoscopy and biopsy were performed on all patients in an attempt to detect primary tumor sites and to characterize them histologically.