18F-FDG PET in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma

To evaluate the sensitivity of 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. A total of 32 patients with a histological diagnosis of extra-nodal MALT lymphoma were referred to the PET Centers in the last 2 years (2003 – 2004) and scanned with 18F-FDG-PET following standard procedures. Overall, the results of 50 18F-FDG-PET scans performed in either active disease state or in complete remission were reviewed. Sites of primary disease included stomach, lung, parotid, skin, orbit, mandible, esophagus and uterus. This study retrospectively enrolled 26 patients with known active disease. 18F-FDG-PET was true positive (TP) in 21/26 patients and false negative (FN) in 5/26. Sensitivity of 18F FDG-PET for extra-nodal MALT was 81%. The data show that 18FDG-PET is a useful diagnostic tool in order to stage, restage or monitor disease in patients with extra-nodal MALT lymphoma.