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EDUCATION EXHIBIT

55

Tumors in the Tracheobronchial Tree: CT and FDG PET Features1
ONlINE-ONly CME
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Chang Min Park, MD • Jin Mo Goo, MD • Hyun Ju Lee, MD • Min A Kim, MD • Chang Hyun Lee, MD • Mi-Jin Kang, MD A variety of tumors, including primary malignant tumors, secondary malignant tumors, and benign tumors, can occur in the tracheobronchial tree. Primary malignant tumors commonly originate from the surface epithelium or the salivary glands, whereas most benign tumors arise from the mesenchymal tissue. …ver más…

Thus, if there is clinical or radiologic suspicion for a tracheobronchial tumor, further evaluation with computed tomography (CT), which is regarded as the standard imaging tool for diagnosis and evaluation of tumor extent, is recommended (1,4). With the advent of multidetector CT, excellent axial source images and multiplanar three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed images of the tracheobronchial tree can now be easily obtained (4). Multiplanar 3D reconstruction techniques (eg, multiplanar reformation, external and internal 3D renderings) improve both diagnostic accuracy and confidence in depicting lesions in the obliquely oriented bronchi (5,6). In addition, two-dimensional or 3D reconstructed images can provide the referring clinician with more familiar anatomic information (7). Another tool that is increasingly being used in the diagnostic work-up of various tumors that are suspected of being malignant is fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), which can provide metabolic information regarding body tumors. It is well known that FDG PET is quite helpful in differentiating malignant from benign neoplasms in the lung, although malignancies with low metabolic activity such as carcinoid tumors can often be misinterpreted as benign lesions at FDG PET (8). The radiology literature contains only a few reports