Our results indicate that F-18 FDG-PET/CT is a useful diagnostic tool in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and with negative I-131 total body scans and high Tg levels. The levothyroxine therapy regimen does not influence F-18 FDG-PET/CT results and the rate of F-18 FDG-PET/CT positive results appears to correlate with the Tg levels. The highest accuracy is reached when the study is performed for patients with Tg levels higher than 21 ng/mL.

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Background[18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F] FDG-PET/CT) may be used for tumor staging and prognosis in several tumors but its role in rectal cancer is still debated. The aim of the present study was to assess the correlation of baseline [18F] FDG-PET parameters with tumor staging, tumor response (tumor regression grade (TRG)), and outcome in a series of patients affected by locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT).MethodsOne hundred patients treated with neoadjuvant CRT and radical surgery were enrolled in the present study. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) at the baseline [18F] FDG-PET were calculated. These PET parameters were correlated with tumor staging, histopathological data (TRG1 vs. TRG2–5 and TRG1–2 vs. TRG3–5), disease-free survival, and overall survival.ResultsSUVmax and SUVmean of primary tumor were statistically associated with T4-stage. SUVmax, SUVmean, and TLG did not result statistically associated with TRG (TRG1 or TRG1–2). MTV resulted statistically associated with TRG1–2 group (OR 2.9; 95% CI 1.2–7.1). Finally, no PET parameter was significantly associated with disease-free or overall survival.ConclusionOur results showed that baseline [18F] FDG-PET parameters correlated with tumor staging, and only MTV correlated with TRG 1–2. PET parameters failed to predict disease-free and overall survival after treatment completion. The results leave open to further studies the issue of identifying patients suitable for conservative approaches.

AIMTo present the current state-of-the art of molecular imaging in the management of patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).METHODSA systematic review of the literature was performed in order to find important original articles on the role of molecular imaging in the management of patients affected by IBD. The search was updated until February 2016 and limited to articles in English.RESULTSFifty-five original articles were included in this review, highlighting the role of single photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography.CONCLUSIONTo date, molecular imaging represents a useful tool to detect active disease in IBD. However, the available data need to be validated in prospective multicenter studies on larger patient samples.

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