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Positron emission tomography (PET) is a novel functional imaging technique that provides several inherent advantages over conventional nuclear scintigraphy. Several studies have suggested a role for PET using the positron emitter fluorine-18 in the diagnosis and followup of patients with lymphoma. This review summarizes the existing data evaluating the role of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET in both the staging and follow-up of patients with lymphoma. Most studies of PET involve patients with either Hodgkin's disease or diffuse large Bcell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PET detects more disease sites above and below the diaphragm on staging of lymphoma than gallium scintigraphy and may have particular utility in the evaluation of the spleen. Moreover, persistently positive PET scans during and after chemotherapy appear to have a high sensitivity for predicting subsequent relapse. A negative PET scan at the end of therapy provides very favorable prognostic information. Persistently positive PET scans at the end of therapy warrant close follow-up or additional diagnostic procedures, since some of those patients may remain in prolonged remission. Clearly, additional studies, including prospective blinded trials and cost-effectiveness analyses, are warranted to determine which subsets of patients with lymphoma ultimately will benefit from this modality.

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This RIS technique was capable of imaging primary prostatic malignancy and metastatic disease in lymph nodes and bone. Its clinical application remains to be defined, but potentially it provides a new means for tumour staging based upon tissue characterization. It may be particularly useful before radical prostatectomy and it is capable of imaging local recurrence following radical treatment of localized disease. Future applications include monitoring the progression of disease and the response to treatment.

Histologically, malignant struma ovarii metastasizes rarely, and only a few cases reported bone metastasis. Here, we describe 2 cases of biologically malignant struma ovarii with pelvic bone metastasis. Case 1 is a 22-year-old female who was found to have a large left ovarian mass during routine prenatal ultrasound. Papillary thyroid cancer arising in struma ovarii was identified after laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy. After total thyroidectomy, radioactive iodine whole-body scan revealed extrathyroidal iodine uptake in left anterior pelvis. Subsequent I-131 treatment resolved the pelvic metastasis. Case 2 is a 49-year-old female who was diagnosed with malignant struma ovarii in 1996 and presented in 2007 with pelvic recurrence and extensive left hip metastasis. Treatment with resection of the pelvic tumor, total thyroidectomy, and multiple I-131 ablation led to eventual resolution of the abdominal and left hip foci. In conclusion, we present 2 rare cases of malignant struma ovarii, both with metastasis to the pelvic bone. This report makes pelvic bone the most frequent site for bone metastasis in malignant struma ovarii. It also emphasizes the importance of total thyroidectomy in allowing identification and treatment of bony metastasis with radioactive iodine.