[18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning for staging, response assessment, and disease surveillance in patients with mantle cell lymphoma

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important imaging modality in the staging and response assessment of patients with lymphoma, but data on its specific use in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) are lacking. Patients and Methods: The records of 28 patients with MCL who had a total of 123 [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET scans between March 1999 and November 2005 were reviewed. Nine patients had staging scans. The other scans were performed for response assessment or relapse surveillance. Results: FDG-PET sensitivity was 100% for nodal disease in the 9 patients studied at baseline. Positron emission tomography scans performed for response assessment were concordant with conventional imaging in 47% and discordant in 53% of cases. Positron emission tomography scanning led to earlier diagnosis of relapse in 1 of 17 patients but produced a high rate of false-negative findings in the evaluation of gastrointestinal involvement. Conclusion: FDG-PET appears to be a sensitive modality for staging and for response assessment in MCL but was not found to be useful in relapse surveillance or in the evaluation of gastrointestinal disease.