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Diagnosis of non-osseous spinal metastatic disease: the role of PET/CT and PET/MRI

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Abstract

The spine is the third most common site for distant metastasis in cancer patients with approximately 70% of patients with metastatic cancer having spinal involvement. Positron emission tomography (PET), combined with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has been deeply integrated in modern clinical oncology as a pivotal component of the diagnostic work-up of patients with cancer. PET is able to diagnose several neoplastic processes before any detectable morphological changes can be identified by anatomic imaging modalities alone. In this review, we discuss the role of PET/CT and PET/MRI in the diagnostic management of non-osseous metastatic disease of the spinal canal. While sometimes subtle, recognizing such disease on FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI imaging done routinely in cancer patients can guide treatment strategies to potentially prevent irreversible neurological damage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Allegheny Health Network, 320 East North Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15214, USA

    Ali Batouli, John Braun, Kamal Singh & Bethany U. Casagranda

  2. Department of Radiology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ali Gholamrezanezhad

  3. Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Abass Alavi

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  1. Ali Batouli
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  2. John Braun
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  4. Ali Gholamrezanezhad
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  5. Bethany U. Casagranda
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  6. Abass Alavi
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Correspondence to Ali Batouli.

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Batouli, A., Braun, J., Singh, K. et al. Diagnosis of non-osseous spinal metastatic disease: the role of PET/CT and PET/MRI. J Neurooncol 138, 221–230 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-018-2794-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-018-2794-8

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