Applications of artificial intelligence in oncologic 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging: a systematic review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a growing field of research that is emerging as a promising adjunct to assist physicians in detection and management of patients with cancer. 18F-FDG PET imaging helps physicians in detection and management of patients with cancer. In this study we discuss the possible applications of AI in 18F-FDG PET imaging based on the published studies. A systematic literature review was performed in PubMed on early August 2020 to find the relevant studies. A total of 65 studies were available for review against the inclusion criteria which included studies that developed an AI model based on 18F-FDG PET data in cancer to diagnose, differentiate, delineate, stage, assess response to therapy, determine prognosis, or improve image quality. Thirty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and are discussed in this review. The majority of studies are related to lung cancer. Other studied cancers included breast cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and sarcoma. All studies were based on human patients except for one which was performed on rats. According to the included studies, machine learning (ML) models can help in detection, differentiation from benign lesions, segmentation, staging, response assessment, and prognosis determination. Despite the potential benefits of AI in cancer imaging and management, the routine implementation of AI-based models and 18F-FDG PET-derived radiomics in clinical practice is limited at least partially due to lack of standardized, reproducible, generalizable, and precise techniques.