FDG-PET, PET/CT and conventional nuclear medicine procedures in the evaluation of lung cancer: a systematic review.

Currently, the German and Austrian S3 guidelines on the evaluation and treatment of lung cancer are about to be published whereas the American Colleague of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines were already presented in 2007. An important part of the diagnostic workup of lung cancer will be the evaluation of indeterminate lung lesions and the mediastinal and extrathoracic staging using FDG-PET or PET/CT. The results from the literature on FDG-PET and PET/CT as well as on conventional nuclear medicine staging procedures and the clinical implications are presented.