PET-CT of Gynecological Malignancies and Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains a major threat to women’s health, followed by the endometrial cancer. Ovarian cancer is the second most common cancer of the female genital tract, but accounts for over half of all deaths related to gynecologic neoplasms. The disease typically has vague symptoms that are often ignored, and it is therefore usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Prognosis is strongly related to the stage of disease at initial diagnosis. In the pretreatment setting, accurate staging and assessment of prognostic factors are crucial for determining the optimal treatment modality in these diseases. Integrated 18FDG PET/CT has been used successfully not only for the diagnosis and staging but also for restaging, therapy monitoring, and prognostic prediction of ovarian and gynecological cancer as well as various other malignant tumors. This chapter aimed at evaluating the role of functional imaging with PET in the management of ovarian and gynecological cancer, discussing its usefulness and limitations and compared to other radiological imaging methods in the assessment of these patients.