The role of 18F-FDG PET in staging and early prediction of response to therapy of recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Abstract

The performances of (18)F-FDG PET and CT are comparable in staging GISTs before initiation of imatinib mesylate therapy. However, (18)F-FDG PET is superior to CT in predicting early response to therapy. Thus, (18)F-FDG PET is a better guide for imatinib mesylate therapy.