The Role of Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Assessing the Response to Neoadjuvant Treatment in Patients with Osteosarcoma

Aim. The objective of this study is to systematically review the role of positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in assessing the response to neoadjuvant treatment in patients with osteosarcoma (OS). Methods. A comprehensive literature search of published studies through March 2012 in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases regarding whole-body FDG-PET and FDG-PET/CT in patients with OS was performed. Results. Twenty-two studies have investigated the role of FDG-PET and FDG-PET/CT in the evaluation of response to neoadjuvant treatment with either chemotherapy or radiation therapy in patients with OS. The main findings of these studies are presented. Conclusion. FDG-PET or PET/CT seems to be sensitive and reliable diagnostic tools in the assessment of metabolic response to treatment in patients with OS, after baseline PET evaluation has been performed in advance. However, false positive findings due to inflammation in sites of tumoral response should be considered.