A head and neck radiologist's perspective on best practices for the usage of PET/CT scans for the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancers

摘要

Hypothesis: Although positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is frequently overused, there are certain clinical scenarios for which PET/CT is indicated and clinically useful in patients with head and neck cancer. BACKGROUND Cancer of the head and neck accounts for 3% of all the malignant diseases within the United States; however, there is an estimated societal cost of $3.1 billion spent annually for treatment.These neoplasms can be much more debilitating than other carcinomas, especially with the involvement of exposed physical attributes. Most head and neck cancer is secondary to squamous cell carcinoma.