Arq Bras Cardiol: Imagem cardiovasc 2019; 32(4): 309-317

PET-CT ¹⁸F-FDG applications in cardiac tumors

DOI: 10.5935/2318-8219.20190048

ABSTRACT

Cardiac neoplasms are divided into primary and secondary. Secondary neoplasms are 20 to 40 times more common than the primary ones. Although rare, primary cardiac neoplasms may be benign or malignant. Benign neoplasms are responsible for 75% of the cases. The main objectives of cardiovascular imaging are to define tumor morphology and etiology, identify potential complications and assist in the establishment of treatment. For the diagnosis of cardiac neoplasms, positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET-CT) with fluorodeoxyglucose-F18 (¹⁸F-FDG) is a technique that is still little used, especially in primary cardiac tumors. However, it can help differentiate between malignant and benign tumors, thus preventing cardiac biopsies and unnecessary invasive treatments. For this review, we searched the PubMed database, considering the publications on this topic in the past 10 years. PET-CT ¹⁸F-FDG is a useful test to differentiate benign from malignant heart masses according to the higher degree of glycolytic metabolism found in malignant neoplasms. Moreover, in malignant tumors, PET-CT ¹⁸F-FDG plays a central role in disease staging and may help assess treatment response.