PET in the Diagnostic Management of Soft Tissue Sarcomas of Musculoskeletal Origin.

ABSTRACT

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) account for less than 1% of adult solid tumors and about 7% of pediatric malignancies, causing 2% of cancer-related deaths. With the advent of PET-computed tomography (CT), the value of (18) fluorine-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) PET imaging to improve the management of STSs has been explored. FDG PET imaging has been found useful in restaging and treatment response assessment. This article reviews current knowledge and application of FDG PET-CT in initial diagnosis, staging, restaging, treatment response monitoring, and prognosis, with a brief overview of the most common histologic subtypes of STS.