Clinical utility of 18F-fluoride PET/CT in benign and malignant bone diseases

F-18 labeled sodium fluoride is a positron-emitting, bone seeking agent with more favorable skeletal kinetics than conventional phosphate and diphosphonate compounds. With the expanding clinical usage of PET/CT', there is renewed interest in using F-18-fluoride PET/CT for imaging bone diseases. Growing evidence indicates that F-18 fluoride PET/CT offers increased sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy in evaluating metastatic bone disease compared to Tc-99m based bone scintigraphy. National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) has expanded coverage for F-18 sodium fluoride PET scans since February 2011 for the evaluation of osseous metastatic disease. In this article, we reviewed the pharmacological characteristics of sodium fluoride, as well as the clinical utility of PET/CT' using F-18-fluoride in both benign and malignant bone disorders. Published by Elsevier Inc.