One of the most important goals of modem gynecologic oncology is the adequate management of ovarian cancer, This includes early detection and differenciation of recurrence or residual tumor. A promising method is available today with the use of
metabolic substrates used by tumor cells that are labeled with positron emitting isotopes and a special instrument capable of detecting the radiations in vivo. Measuring tumor metabolic characteristics appear also to differenciate tumor
recurrence
or
residual tumor from surgical or irradiation changes which is important since this will not be differentiated by other modalities such as CT or MRL. The goal of this study was to determine the potential utility of whole-body PET using the glucose
analogue 2-(18F)0fluoro-2-deoxy-D-gjucose(F-18-FDG) for the detection of primary, metastatic, and recurrent ovarian cancer.
Six patients had imaging tudies prior to laparotomy for suspected ovarian cancer. PET(Positron Emission Tomography) scans were done with an ECAT 921(Emission Computed Axial Tomography 921, Siemens/CTI). The results of the study show good
correlation
between PET and pathological findings. The tumor detection rate of CT, MRI, CA-125, PET for ovarian cancer was 50%, 75%, 25%, 100%, respectively.
In summary, this work indicates that PET may be useful in the management of patients with ovarian cancers by identifying occult foci of metabolically active tumor that do not appear on morphological studies.
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