In large medical centers, interpretations of positron-emission tomography (PET) studies are usually performed by those radiologists with special interest and expertise in nuclear medicine. Nonetheless, because of the increasing use and indications for PET, it is important that all neuroradiologists understand its utility and limitations. It is fortunate therefore that, Drs Lin and Alavi, with the assistance of 18 authors, have edited a 312-page book entitled PET and PET/CT: A Clinical Guide, which should be of interest to neuroradiologists.
The book is divided into 4 sections: “Basic Science,” “Clinical Basics,” “Oncologic Applications,” and “Non Oncologic Applications.” Areas of the book that apply directly to our specialty include those dealing with the following: fluorodeoxyglucose metabolism, standard uptake values, normal variants and benign findings in the spine and head and neck, cancer of the head and neck, thyroid cancer, nononcologic neurologic applications (includes Alzheimer disease, Lewy body dementia, and Parkinson dementia) and brain neoplasms (tumors versus radiation necrosis, lymphoma versus toxoplasmosis).
The book is short/concise, and most of it is written in an outline form with proper examples of many of the entities they describe. Although a neuroradiologist would probably not purchase this book, borrowing it from a nuclear medicine colleague to gain an appreciation of the issues involved with PET, particularly in the head and neck, would be worthwhile.
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