Radiotherapy volume delineation using dynamic F-18-FDG PET/CT imaging in patients with oropharyngeal cancer: a pilot study

摘要

Delineation of gross tumour volume in 3D is a critical step in the radiotherapy (RT) treatment planning for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Static [F-18]-FDG PET/CT imaging has been suggested as a method to improve the reproducibility of tumour delineation, but it suffers from low specificity. We undertook this pilot study in which dynamic features in time-activity curves (TACs) of [F-18]-FDG PET/CT images were applied to help the discrimination of tumour from inflammation and adjacent normal tissue.