Comparison between F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Regional Lymph Nodal Staging in Patients with Melanoma: A Review of the Literature

Paoletta Mirk; Giorgio Treglia; Marco Salsano; Pietro Basile; Alessandro Giordano; Lorenzo Bonomo

doi:10.1155/2011/912504

Comparison between F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Regional Lymph Nodal Staging in Patients with Melanoma: A Review of the Literature

Radiol Res Pract. 2011:2011:912504. doi: 10.1155/2011/912504. Epub 2011 Dec 22.

Authors

Paoletta Mirk¹, Giorgio Treglia, Marco Salsano, Pietro Basile, Alessandro Giordano, Lorenzo Bonomo

Affiliation

¹ Department of Bioimaging and Radiological Sciences, Institute of Radiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, 00168 Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Aim. to compare (18)F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for regional lymph nodal staging in patients with melanoma. Methods. We performed a literature review discussing original articles which compared FDG-PET to SLNB for regional lymph nodal staging in patients with melanoma. Results and Conclusions. There is consensus in the literature that FDG-PET cannot replace SLNB for regional lymph nodal staging in patients with melanoma.