Head and Neck Cancers
Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancers among males. The role of fludeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging in staging, therapy monitoring, radiation therapy planning, and long-term follow-up evaluation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is widely investigated. In addition to clinical information, benign findings and pitfalls in FDG PET/CT reading, and teaching cases, this chapter reviews evidence-based recommendations regarding PET/CT examination in head and neck cancers and compares them with statements in major clinical guidelines. According to evidence-based data, the modality is useful in restaging of head and neck SCC and detecting recurrent cancers. With a very high negative predictive value, a negative posttherapy scan is strongly suggestive of absent viable malignancy. FDG PET/CT imaging is also highly suggested to detect unknown primary cancers in patients with cervical lymph node metastasis.
