Lung Cancer: Positron Emission Tomography/ Computed Tomography and the New Staging System

deaths in several developed countries. 1 Unfortunately, there were an estimated 226,000 new cases of lung cancer and 160,000 deaths in 2012 in the United States alone. 2 Furthermore, there has been a documented increase in female lung cancer mortality in developed countries, parallel to the rising smoking rate among women. 3 Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises 75%-80% of all new cases of lung cancer diagnoses, 4 and thus, this paper focuses on NSCLC. Staging is a fundamental initial step in the management of patients with lung cancer. Positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging now plays a major role in NSCLC staging given overall high diagnostic accuracy, widespread availability, and improvements in cost and reimbursement. The primary objective of this manuscript is to review the role of PET/CT in staging of lung cancer in the context of the currently utilized seventh edition of the staging system. A brief discussion of the emerging technology of PET/ magnetic resonance (MR) is also reviewed.