Positron emission tomography imaging in the thorax

Postitron emission tomography (PET) is emerging as a powerful tool that com plements conventional radiologic studies in the evaluation of a variety of thoracic abnormalities. PET is typically performed with the imaging agent F DG, a glucose analog, which exploits differences in glucose metabolism betw een normal and neoplastic cells, allowing accurate, noninvasive differentia tion of benign from malignant abnormalities. This article focuses on the cu rrent applications of FDG-PET in the thorax and reviews the evaluation of f ocal pulmonary opacities, lung cancer staging, tumor recurrence, treatment response, and prognosis.