PET and PET/CT in ENT imaging:

1. Some advocate use of PET/CT for initial imaging in patients suspected of head and neck tumors.

2. PET cannot always visualize very small lesions, and some lesions are best diagnosed with direct visualization.

3. The dose and cost of PET/CT is high, but for tumor staging, it is often cost-effective.

4. The ability to superimpose anatomic detail (from CT images) onto functional imaging (PET) greatly increases sensitivity and specificity.

5. There are many false positived in PET imaging, including inflammatory processes and normal uptake in brain, vocal cords, and salivary glands, which can limit specificity of results in some patients with neck disease.

NECK MASS imaging