18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/Computed Tomography: Head and Neck Salivary Gland Tumors.

ABSTRACT

Salivary gland tumors (SGTs) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms arising from the 3 pairs of major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual) or numerous minor salivary glands located throughout the oral cavity. This review discusses the role of PET/computed tomography (CT) in evaluation of SGTs, including staging, restaging, prognostication, and response assessment. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT is useful for staging and restaging malignant SGTs and offers important prognostic information in these patients. It is less useful for differentiating benign and malignant SGTs. Non-FDG PET radiotracers, perineural spread, parotid incidentalomas, and interpretative pitfalls are discussed as well.