The role of functional MRI and PET/CT in evaluation of patients with primary and recurrent ovarian cancer

Abstract

Ovarian cancer usually presents with widespread peritoneal dissemination. The accurate mapping of the disease determines the likelihood of optimal surgical cytoreduction, which, in turn, predicts patient outcome. Standard CT and MRI frequently fail to accurately map the extent of metastatic disease. Furthermore, pure anatomical imaging uses only size criteria when assessing treatment response overlooking functional tissue alterations that occur before any changes in tumor size or volume. In this review article we describe the added value of functional imaging techniques such as dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI and PET combined with CT in the evaluation of patients with primary and recurrent ovarian cancer. The combination of functional and anatomical information provided by these techniques may play an important role in accurate delineation of the disease, thus influencing treatment selection. Similarly, the integrated functional and anatomical approach may provide noninvasive treatme...