Clinical Imaging Exam 1 Practice

In oncology, 18F-FDG PET-CT is used primarily to reveal metabolic activity by showing where tissues take up more glucose, because cancer cells often have higher glycolysis than normal cells. This metabolic information, when combined with CT’s precise anatomic detail, lets us visualize the extent of disease—identifying involved lymph nodes and distant metastases—so we can stage cancer. It’s also invaluable for monitoring therapy: a decrease in FDG uptake after treatment often indicates a response, even before size changes are evident. The technique does not replace anatomical imaging entirely; CT or MRI remains essential for detailed structure and tissue characterization, and FDG uptake can occur in inflammatory processes, so findings must be interpreted in the clinical context. It’s not used to measure bone density, which is outside its purpose.